Breakdown of Il pense que cette innovation contrôle tout.
il
he
ce
this (before a noun)
tout
all, everything
penser
to think
que
that (introducing a clause)
contrôler
to control
l'innovation
the innovation (f)
Questions & Answers about Il pense que cette innovation contrôle tout.
Why is the verb contrôle in the indicative instead of the subjunctive?
The phrase Il pense que expresses a belief or an opinion affirmatively. In French, verbs like penser and croire take the indicative because the speaker is stating what they believe to be a reality. You would only use the subjunctive if the sentence were negative (Il ne pense pas que) or a question, which introduces doubt.
If we made the sentence negative to introduce doubt, what would the subjunctive form of contrôle be?
It would actually look exactly the same: contrôle. Because contrôler is a regular -er verb, its present subjunctive forms for je, tu, il/elle/on, and ils/elles are identical to their present indicative forms. You would only see a difference in the nous and vous forms.
Why do we use cette instead of cet before a word starting with a vowel?
Because innovation is a feminine noun (almost all French nouns ending in -tion are feminine). The feminine word for "this" or "that" is always cette, regardless of whether the next word starts with a vowel or a consonant. The word cet is only used for masculine nouns starting with a vowel or a silent H.
Is the French verb contrôler a direct match for the English "to control"?
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