Breakdown of N'est-il pas en train de pleurer ? Si, mais qu'il dorme !
il
he
mais
but
ne
not (used before the verb)
pas
not (used after the verb)
dormir
to sleep
pleurer
to cry
être en train de
to be in the middle of (doing)
si
yes (answering a negative question)
que
let / may (third-person command)
Questions & Answers about N'est-il pas en train de pleurer ? Si, mais qu'il dorme !
How does qu'il dorme translate to "let him sleep" without a verb for "let"?
In French, starting an independent clause with que followed by a verb in the subjunctive (like dorme) creates a third-person command or strong wish. It translates roughly to "May he sleep!" but in natural English, we usually phrase this as "Let him sleep!"
Why does the speaker reply with Si instead of Oui?
Si is the mandatory word for "yes" when you are contradicting a negative question or statement. Because the first sentence asks a negative question (N'est-il pas...), answering with Oui would be confusing. Si clearly means "On the contrary, yes he is."
Could I just ask Ne pleure-t-il pas instead of using en train de?
Yes, you could. However, the expression être en train de emphasizes that an action is in progress right at this exact moment. While French usually just uses the standard present tense for English "-ing" verbs, adding en train de makes the ongoing nature of the crying unmistakable.
Is the inverted question N'est-il pas common in everyday spoken French?
It is considered quite formal. In casual, everyday spoken French, a native speaker would more likely use statement word order with a rising intonation, asking Il n'est pas en train de pleurer ?
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