Breakdown of À supposer que l'accusé contredise son avocat, que ferons-nous ?
nous
we / us (object pronoun)
faire
to do, to make
que
what (unstressed)
son
his/her/its (son, sa, ses)
l'avocat
the lawyer (m)
l'accusé
the accused (m)
contredire
to contradict
à supposer que
supposing that
Questions & Answers about À supposer que l'accusé contredise son avocat, que ferons-nous ?
Why is the verb contredise in the subjunctive here?
The phrase à supposer que (supposing that) sets up a hypothetical situation. In French, this expression always requires the following verb to be in the subjunctive mood, which is why we use contredise instead of the present indicative contredit.
How is the subjunctive form contredise formed? Does it follow the exact same rules as dire?
Yes, for the subjunctive, both dire (to say) and contredire (to contradict) use the same stem pattern, giving us dise and contredise. The subjunctive stem comes from the ils/elles present indicative form (ils contredisent). Just remember as a B2 refresher that in the present indicative, their vous forms differ: vous dites but vous contredisez.
Why do we use the future tense ferons-nous in the main clause instead of the conditional ferions-nous?
You can actually use either! Using the future tense (ferons-nous) makes the hypothesis feel a bit more concrete or like a real possibility that needs a plan. If you wanted to frame it as a purely theoretical or unlikely scenario, you would use the conditional (ferions-nous). Both pair perfectly with à supposer que.
Could I just use si instead of à supposer que in this sentence?
Yes, but the grammar of the sentence would have to change. If you use si (if), you cannot use the subjunctive. You would need to use the present indicative: Si l'accusé contredit son avocat, que ferons-nous ? Using à supposer que is a more advanced, formal way to set up a hypothesis.
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