Log inSign up

Le médecin sait que le soutien est très important.

Le médecin sait que le soutien est très important.
The doctor knows that support is very important.
From Lesson 167:Indefinite relative pronouns with 'de' verbs (ce dont)·French

Questions & Answers about Le médecin sait que le soutien est très important.

The current lesson is about phrases like ce dont. Why do we just use que here?
In this sentence, que simply means "that" (he knows that support is important) and acts as a conjunction connecting two clauses. You use phrases like ce dont or ce que when you mean "what" or "the thing that". For example, if the doctor knew what you needed, you would use ce dont: Le médecin sait ce dont tu as besoin.
Why do we use sait instead of connaît?
We use savoir (here conjugated as sait) when talking about knowing a fact, and it is almost always the verb you need before a que clause. Connaître is used when you are familiar with a noun, like a person, place, or specific object. Since the doctor knows a fact here, savoir is the right choice.
The English translation just says "support", so why is it le soutien and not just soutien?
In French, general concepts and abstract nouns require a definite article (le, la, or les). Whenever you talk about "support" as a general idea rather than a specific instance, you must include the article and say le soutien.
Can I say la médecin if the doctor is a woman?
Yes, you can! Traditionally, the masculine le médecin was used for all doctors regardless of gender, and you will still see this very often. However, la médecin is widely used and accepted today when referring to a female doctor.

Learn Le médecin sait que le soutien est très important and more in French

All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.

  • ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
  • ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
  • ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free
Start learning French →