Question 1

Why do we use pour que here instead of just pour?

Accepted Answer

We use pour que (so that) because the subject changes between the two halves of the sentence. The person doing the first action is you (implied by the command Utilisez), but the subject of the second action is your vegetables (vos légumes). When the subject changes like this, you must use pour que followed by the subjunctive. If the subject stayed the same, you would just use pour + infinitive.

Question 2

Is poussent actually in the subjunctive here? It looks exactly like the normal present tense.

Accepted Answer

Yes, it is! The conjunction pour que always requires the subjunctive. However, for regular -er verbs like pousser, the subjunctive form for ils/elles (as well as je, tu, and il/elle) is spelled identically to the standard present tense (the indicative). So even though it looks the same, it is grammatically the subjunctive.

Question 3

The word engrais ends in an 's', so why is the possessive adjective leur instead of leurs?

Accepted Answer

Un engrais (a fertilizer) is a singular noun that naturally ends in an 's' in its base form, just like un mois (a month) or le temps (time). Because we are talking about their one specific fertilizer, we use the singular leur.

Question 4

I thought the verb pousser meant 'to push'. Why is it translated as 'grow' here?

Accepted Answer

Pousser does mean 'to push', but it is also the standard verb for plants, hair, and teeth growing. You can think of it as the vegetables 'pushing' their way out of the ground! Note that you only use pousser for things that grow out of a surface; for children or animals growing up, you would use the verb grandir.

Utilisez leur engrais pour que vos légumes poussent bien.

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