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Il semble que le magasin soit fermé.

Il semble que le magasin soit fermé.
It seems that the shop is closed.
From Lesson 190:Subjunctive for doubt and possibility (douter que, il est possible que)·French

Breakdown of Il semble que le magasin soit fermé.

être
to be
le magasin
the store
fermer
to close
il semble que
it seems that

Questions & Answers about Il semble que le magasin soit fermé.

Why do we use soit instead of est in this sentence?
soit is the subjunctive form of être (to be). We must use the subjunctive here because the phrase il semble que (it seems that) expresses doubt, uncertainty, or a mere possibility rather than a definite fact.
What if I want to say 'It seems to me that the shop is closed'? Do I still use the subjunctive?
No, and this is a very common trap! If you add a pronoun to make it il me semble que (it seems to me that), it expresses a personal belief, much like 'I think that'. Because you are stating what you believe to be true, it takes the normal indicative mood: Il me semble que le magasin est fermé.
Does the il in il semble que refer to a specific noun?
No, the il here is an impersonal pronoun. It works exactly like the 'it' in the English phrase 'it seems that' or 'it is raining'. It doesn't refer to a specific person or thing.
Why doesn't fermé have an extra -e or -s at the end?
Here, the past participle fermé acts as an adjective describing the state of le magasin (the shop). Since magasin is a masculine singular noun, fermé stays in its default masculine singular form.

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