Breakdown of Il est peu probable que le séisme détruise la ville.
être
to be
la ville
the city / the town
il
it (impersonal subject)
peu
little, few
que
that (introducing a clause)
détruire
to destroy
probable
probable
le séisme
the earthquake
Questions & Answers about Il est peu probable que le séisme détruise la ville.
Why does this sentence use the subjunctive (détruise) when il est probable que takes the indicative?
The phrase il est probable que expresses a strong likelihood, so it takes the indicative. However, adding peu changes the meaning to 'it is unlikely.' Expressions of doubt or improbability—like il est peu probable que or il est improbable que—always trigger the subjunctive because the outcome is no longer seen as a sure thing.
The English translation says 'will destroy', so why aren't we using a future tense for the French verb?
How is the subjunctive form détruise constructed here?
For most verbs, including détruire, you find the subjunctive stem by taking the ils/elles form of the present indicative (ils détruisent) and dropping the -ent. That gives us the stem détruis-, to which we add the standard subjunctive ending for the third-person singular (-e).
Is there a difference between un séisme and un tremblement de terre?
They both mean 'earthquake' and are largely interchangeable. Un tremblement de terre is the everyday descriptive term, while un séisme is slightly more formal or scientific (related to the English word 'seismic'). However, un séisme is very frequently used in standard French news and conversation because it is shorter.
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