Breakdown of Quoique la falaise soit haute, l'homme qui grimpe n'a pas peur.
être
to be
l'homme
the man (m)
qui
who
ne
not (used before the verb)
pas
not (used after the verb)
avoir peur
to be afraid
haut
high, tall
grimper
to climb
quoique
even though
la falaise
the cliff
Questions & Answers about Quoique la falaise soit haute, l'homme qui grimpe n'a pas peur.
Why does the sentence use soit instead of est?
The word quoique (even though / although) is a conjunction of concession. In French, it always requires the following verb to be in the subjunctive mood. So we use soit (the subjunctive form of être) instead of the indicative est.
Can I use bien que instead of quoique here?
Yes! Bien que and quoique mean exactly the same thing and both require the subjunctive. You could say Bien que la falaise soit haute, and the meaning would not change.
Is quoique related to the phrase quoi que (two words)?
They sound identical but mean different things. Written as one word, quoique means 'although' or 'even though'. Written as two words, quoi que means 'whatever'. Both trigger the subjunctive!
Why is it n'a pas peur instead of n'est pas peur?
Why does qui grimpe translate to 'who is climbing' rather than 'who climbs'?
It can translate to either! French does not have a separate present continuous tense like the English 'is climbing'. Whether the man 'climbs' in general or 'is climbing' right now, French just uses the standard present tense grimpe.
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