Learn French: Pensez-vous vraiment que l'objectif soit irréaliste ? - Do you really think that the objective is unrealistic?

Penser is an opinion verb. When you use it in a positive statement (je pense que...), it takes the indicative (est). However, in questions—especially formal ones with inversion like pensez-vous—it expresses doubt or asks for subjective judgment. This triggers the subjunctive mood, which is why we use soit here.

Would I still use the subjunctive if I asked the question without inversion, like Vous pensez vraiment que... ?

It depends on how formal you are being and how much doubt you want to express. In everyday spoken French, asking Vous pensez que l'objectif est irréaliste ? (using the indicative) is very common. The inversion in pensez-vous elevates the register and emphasizes the uncertainty, making the subjunctive (soit) the grammatically preferred and natural choice.

Why is vraiment placed after the pronoun vous rather than directly after the verb?

In a normal statement, a short adverb follows the conjugated verb (vous pensez vraiment). But when you invert the subject and verb to ask a question (pensez-vous), they become a single locked unit joined by a hyphen. The adverb must wait and follow that entire verb-pronoun block.

Is irréaliste masculine here to match l'objectif?