Breakdown of Il est possible qu'il ait partagé la confidence.
être
to be
il
he
avoir
to have
possible
possible
partager
to share
la
her, it (feminine direct object pronoun)
que
that (introducing a clause)
la confidence
the secret (shared in confidence)
Questions & Answers about Il est possible qu'il ait partagé la confidence.
Why is the verb ait partagé in the past subjunctive here?
The phrase Il est possible que expresses doubt or uncertainty, which triggers the subjunctive. Because the action of sharing the secret already happened (it is in the past relative to the present possibility), we need the past subjunctive. It is formed using the present subjunctive of the auxiliary avoir (ait) plus the past participle (partagé).
Would I still use the subjunctive if the sentence started with Il est probable que?
La confidence looks like the English word "confidence", but it is translated as "secret" here. Are they false friends?
Does the past participle partagé ever need to agree with la confidence since it is feminine?
Not in this exact sentence. Because the auxiliary verb is avoir, the past participle only agrees with a direct object if it comes before the verb. Since the direct object (la confidence) comes after the verb here, partagé stays in its default masculine singular form. If the sentence were "the secret that he shared" (la confidence qu'il a partagée), then it would agree.
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