Breakdown of Pourvu que ce ticket soit gagnant.
être
to be
ce
this (before a noun)
pourvu que
provided that / let's hope that (expressing a wish)
le ticket
the ticket (bus, metro, receipt)
Questions & Answers about Pourvu que ce ticket soit gagnant.
Why does pourvu que mean "let's hope that" here instead of its usual meaning "provided that"?
When pourvu que connects two clauses, it generally means "provided that" or "as long as". But when it is used at the very beginning of a standalone exclamation like this sentence, it expresses a strong wish or desire, translating perfectly to "let's hope that" or "fingers crossed that".
Why do we use the subjunctive soit in this sentence?
The conjunction pourvu que inherently expresses a condition or a strong wish, and expressions of wishing always trigger the subjunctive mood in French. Because the subject is ce ticket, we use soit, the third-person singular subjunctive form of être (to be).
If I wanted to say "I hope that this ticket is winning" using espérer, would I still use soit?