Breakdown of Le tribunal ne pourra pas prouver qu'il a commis le crime.
il
he
avoir
to have
ne
not (used before the verb)
pas
not (used after the verb)
pouvoir
to be able to / can
que
that (introducing a clause)
le crime
the crime
prouver
to prove
le tribunal
the court
commettre
to commit
Questions & Answers about Le tribunal ne pourra pas prouver qu'il a commis le crime.
The current lesson is about "en admettant que". How would you add that here to say "Assuming that he committed the crime, the court will not be able to prove it"?
You would say: En admettant qu'il ait commis le crime, le tribunal ne pourra pas le prouver. Because en admettant que and à supposer que express a hypothesis and trigger the subjunctive, you must change the passé composé (a commis) to the past subjunctive (ait commis).
Does prouver que ever take the subjunctive?
Generally, no. Prouver que expresses a fact or certainty, so it takes the indicative, which is why we see the passé composé a commis here. While making a statement negative (ne pourra pas prouver que) can sometimes trigger the subjunctive for verbs of thinking or believing, it is standard to keep the indicative after prouver to emphasize the reality of the facts being investigated.
Why use the future tense pourra instead of the conditional pourrait?
Pourra is the simple future tense meaning "will be able to," which makes this sentence a firm, factual prediction about the future. Using the conditional pourrait would change the meaning to a hypothetical "would not be able to" or "might not be able to."
What is the infinitive of commis, and how is it conjugated?
The infinitive is commettre (to commit). It is conjugated exactly like the common verb mettre (to put). This means its past participle takes an -is ending, giving us commis, just as mettre becomes mis.
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