Breakdown of Tu es sur le point de pleurer, pourtant tu es soulagé de voir l'auberge.
être
to be
tu
you (informal singular)
voir
to see
pleurer
to cry
pourtant
yet, however
de
to (introducing an infinitive after a verb)
être sur le point de
to be about to
soulagé
relieved
l'auberge
the hostel (f)
Questions & Answers about Tu es sur le point de pleurer, pourtant tu es soulagé de voir l'auberge.
Why do we use de voir here instead of que tu voies?
This is because both actions share the same subject (tu). When expressing an emotion like being relieved (être soulagé), you use que followed by the subjunctive only if the second action is done by someone else. Since the same person is feeling relieved and seeing the hostel, French avoids the subjunctive and uses de plus the infinitive (de voir) instead.
What does the phrase sur le point de mean here?
The expression être sur le point de means 'to be about to' or 'to be on the verge of' doing something. It is always followed by an infinitive verb, which is why the unconjugated verb pleurer (to cry) comes right after it.
Why doesn't pourtant mean 'therefore'?
Would soulagé change if tu refers to a woman?
Yes, it would. Soulagé is acting as an adjective here to describe tu. If you are speaking to a woman, you need to add a feminine e to make it soulagée, even though it sounds exactly the same when spoken.
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