Breakdown of Est-ce qu'il y a un appartement abordable qu'on puisse louer ?
un
a / an (masculine)
on
one / we (informal)
l'appartement
the apartment (m)
il y a
there is / there are
est-ce que
is it that / do / does (question marker)
pouvoir
to be able to / can
louer
to rent
que
that (introducing a clause)
abordable
affordable
Questions & Answers about Est-ce qu'il y a un appartement abordable qu'on puisse louer ?
Why is puisse in the subjunctive here instead of the indicative peut?
We use the subjunctive because the existence of this affordable apartment is uncertain. When a relative clause (starting with que or qui) describes something you are looking for but aren't sure actually exists, French triggers the subjunctive to reflect that doubt.
If I used the indicative peut instead, would it be wrong?
In casual spoken French, some natives might use peut here, but it subtly changes the nuance. Using the indicative implies you are fairly certain affordable apartments exist in this area, and you just want to find one of them. The subjunctive puisse emphasizes your genuine doubt about whether any are actually available.
Why do we use qu' here instead of qui?
The relative pronoun que (which drops its e to become qu' before a vowel) is used because it acts as the direct object of the verb louer. The apartment is the thing being rented, while on (we) is the subject doing the renting. You only use qui when the noun being replaced is the subject of the clause.
How does abordable mean "affordable"? It looks like it relates to "boarding".
Etymologically, it comes from aborder, which means to approach or to board a ship! Over time, its meaning expanded. In modern French, abordable is the standard, everyday word for "affordable" (approachable in price) or "approachable" (when describing a person).
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