Breakdown of Tu peux réussir ce défi, bien qu'il soit extrême.
être
to be
tu
you (informal singular)
il
he
ce
this (before a noun)
Questions & Answers about Tu peux réussir ce défi, bien qu'il soit extrême.
Why is soit used here instead of est?
The conjunction bien que (although / even though) expresses a concession and always requires the subjunctive mood. Because of this rule, we must use soit (the subjunctive form of être) instead of the indicative est.
Could I use quoique instead of bien que in this sentence?
Yes! Quoique also means "although" and works exactly the same way here, requiring the subjunctive mood (quoiqu'il soit). Bien que is just slightly more common in everyday spoken French.
I have learned to use réussir à. Why is there no à before ce défi?
When réussir means "to succeed in doing something," it is followed by à and an infinitive verb (like réussir à le faire). However, when you pass or succeed at a specific thing like a test, exam, or challenge, it takes a direct object with no preposition: réussir ce défi.