Breakdown of Ils peuvent signer le contrat, à moins qu'il n'y ait un litige.
un
a / an (masculine)
ils
they (masculine/mixed)
il y a
there is / there are
ne
not (used before the verb)
Questions & Answers about Ils peuvent signer le contrat, à moins qu'il n'y ait un litige.
Why is ait in the subjunctive here?
The conjunction à moins que (unless) always requires the following verb to be in the subjunctive mood. Since the expression is il y a (there is), the verb avoir becomes ait.
Why is there an n' before y ait? Does it make the sentence negative?
No, the sentence is still positive. This is called the ne explétif. It is an optional, non-negative word often placed after certain conjunctions like à moins que in formal or written French to add elegance.
I know il y a, but how do the words combine to form il n'y ait?
The expression il y a (there is) uses the verb avoir. To put it in the subjunctive, a becomes ait. When you add the ne explétif, the ne goes right before the pronoun y, contracting to n'y ait.