Breakdown of Écoute ce conseil : il faut que tu gardes tes articulations très souples.
tu
you (informal singular)
très
very
ce
this (before a noun)
écouter
to listen to
ton
your (ton, ta, tes)
il
it (impersonal subject)
falloir
to be necessary / must (impersonal)
garder
to keep
que
that (introducing a clause)
le conseil
the advice
l'articulation
the joint (f)
souple
flexible
Questions & Answers about Écoute ce conseil : il faut que tu gardes tes articulations très souples.
Why is "gardes" in the subjunctive if it looks exactly like the normal present tense?
For regular -er verbs like garder, the subjunctive is formed by taking the ils form of the present tense (ils gardent), removing the -ent to get the stem (gard-), and adding the subjunctive endings (-e, -es, -e, -ions, -iez, -ent). Because the tu ending for the subjunctive is -es, que tu gardes ends up looking identical to the regular present tense tu gardes.
What is triggering the subjunctive in this sentence?
The phrase il faut que (it is necessary that / you must). This is one of the most common triggers for the subjunctive in French, as it expresses a strong necessity or obligation.
Why doesn't "Écoute" have an "s" at the end, since it is a command directed at "tu"?
Écoute is in the imperative (command) mood. As a quick refresher: for regular -er verbs, the tu form of the imperative drops the final -s. So, the present tense tu écoutes becomes just Écoute when giving an order.
In English, we just say "advice," which is uncountable. Is "conseil" countable in French?
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