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Il est essentiel que ces hommes transpirent et qu'ils choisissent des repas sains.

Il est essentiel que ces hommes transpirent et qu'ils choisissent des repas sains.
It is essential that these men sweat and that they choose healthy meals.
From Lesson 184:Regular present subjunctive·French

Questions & Answers about Il est essentiel que ces hommes transpirent et qu'ils choisissent des repas sains.

Why are we using the subjunctive in this sentence?
The subjunctive is triggered by the phrase Il est essentiel que (It is essential that). Expressions showing necessity, obligation, or strong opinions followed by que require the subjunctive for the next verb.
Wait, choisissent looks exactly like the normal present tense. Is it really the subjunctive?
Yes, it is! To form the present subjunctive for regular verbs, you take the ils form of the normal present tense (ils choisissent), drop the -ent to get the stem (choisiss-), and add the subjunctive endings. For ils, the ending is -ent. Because of this, the ils form in the subjunctive is identical to the normal present tense.
Does the same rule apply to transpirent?
Exactly. The normal present tense is ils transpirent. Dropping the -ent gives the stem transpir-. Adding the subjunctive ils ending (-ent) gets you right back to transpirent. For regular -er, -ir, and -re verbs, the ils/elles form will always look the same in both tenses!
Why is there a second qu' before ils choisissent? Can I just say 'et ils choisissent'?
No, you cannot drop it in French. Whenever you have multiple verbs connected by 'and' or 'or' that are all triggered by the same expression (like Il est essentiel que), you must repeat que (or qu') before every single verb. In English, we often drop the second 'that', but French requires it.
Is repas plural here?
Yes, des repas sains means 'healthy meals'. The word repas (meal) always ends in an 's' in French, even in the singular (un repas). You can tell it is plural here because it is preceded by des and the adjective sains has an 's' at the end.

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