Breakdown of Elle est déçue, mais il est possible qu'il ne le soit pas.
être
to be
il
he
elle
she
mais
but
ne
not (used before the verb)
pas
not (used after the verb)
possible
possible
que
that (introducing a clause)
déçu
disappointed
Questions & Answers about Elle est déçue, mais il est possible qu'il ne le soit pas.
What exactly does the le replace in the second half of this sentence?
Would the pronoun le change to la if the second person were also a woman?
Why do we use soit instead of est in the second clause?
The expression il est possible que (it is possible that) introduces doubt or uncertainty. In French, this triggers the subjunctive mood for the following verb, so the indicative est becomes the subjunctive soit.
What is the rule for the word order with ne, pas, and the pronoun le here?
Object pronouns always stick closely to the front of the conjugated verb. When making the sentence negative, the ne goes before the pronoun, wrapping around the pronoun-verb pair. The structure is always ne + pronoun + verb + pas, which gives us ne le soit pas.
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