Breakdown of Il faut que l'équipe municipale finance ces projets.
ce
this (before a noun)
le projet
the project
l'équipe
the team (f)
il
it (impersonal subject)
falloir
to be necessary / must (impersonal)
que
that (introducing a clause)
municipal
municipal
financer
to finance
Questions & Answers about Il faut que l'équipe municipale finance ces projets.
Why is finance in the subjunctive?
The phrase il faut que is an expression of necessity (meaning "it is necessary that" or "must"). In French, this phrase always requires the verb in the following clause to be in the subjunctive mood.
Finance looks exactly like the regular present tense. How can I tell it's subjunctive?
For regular -er verbs like financer, the present subjunctive forms for je, tu, il/elle/on, and ils/elles are spelled exactly the same as the normal present tense (the indicative). You know it is subjunctive here purely because il faut que demands it.
Could I say Il faut l'équipe municipale financer... without que?
No. When you use il faut and want to specify who must do the action, you must use que followed by a subject (l'équipe municipale) and a conjugated verb (finance). You can only use il faut + infinitive when stating a general rule without a specific subject, such as Il faut financer ces projets (These projects must be financed).
Why do we use ces before projets instead of les?
Ces is a plural demonstrative adjective meaning "these" or "those". If you used the definite article les, the sentence would mean the team must finance "the projects" rather than "these projects".
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