Breakdown of Pensez-vous vraiment que l'objectif soit irréaliste ?
être
to be
vous
you (plural/formal)
vraiment
really
penser
to think
que
that (introducing a clause)
l'objectif
the objective (m)
irréaliste
unrealistic
Questions & Answers about Pensez-vous vraiment que l'objectif soit irréaliste ?
Why is soit used here instead of est?
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?
Is irréaliste masculine here to match l'objectif?
Yes, but it happens to look exactly the same as the feminine form. Adjectives that already end in -e in their base masculine form do not get an extra -e in the feminine. It would still be irréaliste if the noun were feminine, like la cible (the target).
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