Breakdown of Je veux qu'elle ait un sifflet dans son sac.
je
I
un
a / an (masculine)
elle
she
le sac
the bag
dans
in, inside
avoir
to have
son
his/her/its (son, sa, ses)
vouloir
to want
que
that (introducing a clause)
le sifflet
the whistle
Questions & Answers about Je veux qu'elle ait un sifflet dans son sac.
Why is ait used here instead of the regular present tense a?
The phrase Je veux que expresses a desire or demand. In French, verbs that express a wish or will always require the verb in the following clause to be in the subjunctive mood. So, we use the subjunctive ait instead of the normal present tense a.
What verb is ait, and why does it look so different from its infinitive?
The word ait is the present subjunctive form of avoir (to have) for il/elle/on. Avoir is completely irregular in the subjunctive, just like the verbs you are learning in this lesson (such as pouvoir becoming puisse or vouloir becoming veuille).
Can I just say Je veux elle avoir to mean "I want her to have"?
No, while English uses an infinitive here (I want her to have), French structure is different. When the person wanting something is different from the person doing the action, you must use que followed by a new subject and a conjugated subjunctive verb. Literally, you are saying "I want that she have".
Since the bag belongs to a woman (elle), why does the sentence use son sac instead of sa sac?
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