Learn French: Ils vont conclure l'accord, à moins que le litige avec la concurrence soit grave. - They are going to conclude the agreement, unless the dispute with the competition is serious.

Word

Ils vont conclure l'accord, à moins que le litige avec la concurrence soit grave.

Meaning

They are going to conclude the agreement, unless the dispute with the competition is serious.

Part of speech

sentence

Pronunciation

Course

French

Lesson

Unless (à moins que)

Breakdown of Ils vont conclure l'accord, à moins que le litige avec la concurrence soit grave.

être

to be

ils

they (masculine/mixed)

Questions & Answers about Ils vont conclure l'accord, à moins que le litige avec la concurrence soit grave.

Why do we use the subjunctive soit instead of the indicative est here?

The conjunction à moins que (unless) introduces a condition or restriction that is uncertain or hasn't happened yet. Because of this uncertainty, it always forces the following verb into the subjunctive mood, which is why we use soit.

I thought à moins que required a ne before the verb. Why is it missing here?

You are thinking of the 'ne explétif', an untranslatable ne often used after à moins que in formal writing (like à moins que le litige ne soit grave). However, this ne is completely optional. In everyday spoken and modern French, it is frequently dropped, just as it is in this sentence.

Does la concurrence mean a sporting event or contest here?

No, a specific contest or tournament is usually un concours or une compétition. In a business context like this one, la concurrence refers to 'the competition' in the sense of rival companies or market competitors.

If I wanted to avoid using the subjunctive, is there another way to say 'unless' in this sentence?