Questions & Answers about Je doute qu'elle soit indifférente, mais il l'est.
What does the l' in il l'est stand for?
It is the neuter pronoun le (contracted to l' before a vowel). In French, it is replacing the adjective indifférent. While in English we can simply say "he is", French requires this pronoun to stand in for the adjective or state that was just mentioned. Since it refers back to indifférente (feminine), shouldn't we use la instead of le?
No, because when a pronoun replaces an adjective or a general state (rather than a specific noun), it acts as a "neuter" pronoun. This means it is always the invariable le (or l'), regardless of the gender and number of the adjective it replaces. Could I drop the pronoun and just say mais il est like in English?
No, that sounds very unnatural in French. You cannot leave the verb être (to be) "dangling" at the end of a sentence like we do in English. You must include the neuter pronoun le to complete the thought. Why is soit in the subjunctive, but est is in the indicative?
The first clause is introduced by Je doute que (I doubt that). Expressing doubt triggers the subjunctive mood, hence soit. The second clause (mais il l'est) is a statement of fact that is no longer governed by the doubt—the speaker is certain that he is indifferent—so it takes the indicative est. Learn Je doute qu'elle soit indifférente, mais il l'est and more in French
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