Bien qu'elles soient franches, leur complicité est parfaite.

Questions & Answers about Bien qu'elles soient franches, leur complicité est parfaite.

Why is soient used here instead of sont?
The conjunction bien que (although) always triggers the subjunctive mood in French. Because of this, we must use soient, which is the subjunctive form of être, rather than the indicative sont.
Doesn't complicité mean complicity in a crime?
It can have that legal meaning, but in everyday French, complicité is a very positive and common term. It describes a strong, natural bond, closeness, or shared understanding between people. It is a classic partial false friend for English speakers.
Why is the adjective franches spelled with a ch?
It is the feminine plural form of the masculine adjective franc (frank, honest, or direct). To make it feminine, the c changes to che to become franche, and we add an s to agree with the plural pronoun elles.
Since there are multiple women (elles), why isn't it leurs complicité?
In French, possessive adjectives agree in number with the noun being owned, not with the owners. Because there is only one shared bond (complicité is singular), you must use the singular leur. If we were talking about multiple distinct bonds, it would be leurs complicités.

Learn Bien qu'elles soient franches, leur complicité est parfaite and more in French

All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.

  • Practice with interactive exercises
  • Track your progress with spaced repetition
  • Learn at your own pace — completely free