Breakdown of Je suis surpris que tu aies entendu cette confidence.
je
I
être
to be
tu
you (informal singular)
avoir
to have
ce
this (before a noun)
entendre
to hear
que
that (introducing a clause)
surpris
surprised
la confidence
the secret (shared in confidence)
Questions & Answers about Je suis surpris que tu aies entendu cette confidence.
Why do we use aies entendu (past subjunctive) here instead of the regular passé composé (as entendu)?
The phrase Je suis surpris que expresses an emotion, which triggers the subjunctive mood for the following verb. Because the action of hearing happened before the feeling of surprise, you must use the past subjunctive instead of the present subjunctive.
How exactly is the past subjunctive aies entendu formed?
Like the passé composé, it is a compound tense. You take the auxiliary verb (in this case avoir) and conjugate it in the present subjunctive for tu, which gives us aies. Then, you simply add the past participle of the main verb entendre, which is entendu.
I thought confidence meant self-assurance. Why is it translated as "secret" here?
Does the past participle entendu need to agree with cette confidence and add an -e?
No, because the auxiliary verb is avoir and the direct object (cette confidence) comes after the verb. The past participle would only agree if the direct object came before the verb, for example if you said la confidence que tu as entendue.
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