Learn French: C'est la seule audition qui soit vraiment convaincante. - It is the only audition that is really convincing.

C'est la seule audition qui soit vraiment convaincante.

It is the only audition that is really convincing.

Breakdown of C'est la seule audition qui soit vraiment convaincante.

être

to be

it / this (with être)

qui

who

him, it (masculine direct object pronoun)

Questions & Answers about C'est la seule audition qui soit vraiment convaincante.

Why is it qui soit instead of qui est?

The phrase la seule (the only) acts as an absolute. When you use an absolute or a superlative (like "the best" or "the worst") to express a subjective opinion, it triggers the subjunctive in the following clause. Since deciding if an audition is "convincing" is a matter of opinion, we use the subjunctive soit.

Would it be grammatically wrong to say qui est?

It wouldn't be strictly wrong, but it changes the nuance. You can use the indicative (est) after la seule if you are stating a hard, objective fact (for example, "It's the only audition that was recorded today"). Because being "convincing" is subjective, the subjunctive soit is expected here.

Why use qui instead of que in this sentence?

qui is used because it acts as the subject of the verb soit (it is the thing doing the action of "being convincing"). If the relative pronoun were the object of the verb (for example, "The only audition that I saw"), you would use que (la seule audition que j'aie vue).

Why does convaincante end with an -e?