Learn French: À moins que tu sois fatigué, nous sortons. - Unless you are tired, we are going out.

À moins que tu sois fatigué, nous sortons.

Unless you are tired, we are going out.

Breakdown of À moins que tu sois fatigué, nous sortons.

être

to be

you (informal singular)

nous

we / us (object pronoun)

fatigué

tired

Questions & Answers about À moins que tu sois fatigué, nous sortons.

Why is sois used instead of es here?

The phrase à moins que (unless) is a conjunction that always requires the subjunctive mood. It expresses a condition or restriction that is uncertain. Therefore, we use sois, which is the subjunctive form of être for tu, instead of the normal present tense es.

I have seen à moins que followed by a ne. Why is there no ne in this sentence?

In formal French, à moins que is often followed by a ne explétif (a non-negative ne that adds style or emphasis, as in à moins que tu ne sois fatigué). However, in everyday spoken French, it is very common to drop this extra ne, which is why it is omitted here.

Why use the present tense nous sortons when the English translation says we are going out?

Just like in English, French frequently uses the present tense to talk about planned actions in the immediate future. Saying nous sortons (literally we go out) is a very natural way to express that you are about to leave right now, and is often preferred over the future tense for immediate plans.

Would fatigué change if the person I am talking to is female?