Learn French: Quoi que le client dise, nous trouvons une solution. - Whatever the customer says, we find a solution.

Quoi que le client dise, nous trouvons une solution.

Whatever the customer says, we find a solution.

Breakdown of Quoi que le client dise, nous trouvons une solution.

a / an (masculine)

nous

we / us (object pronoun)

trouver

to find

le client

the client / the customer

Questions & Answers about Quoi que le client dise, nous trouvons une solution.

Why do we use dise instead of the normal present tense dit?

The phrase quoi que expresses concession ("whatever" or "no matter what") and acts as a trigger that always requires the subjunctive mood. Therefore, we must use dise, the subjunctive form of dire, rather than the indicative dit.

What is the difference between the two-word quoi que used here and the single word quoique?

Quoi que (two words) means "whatever" or "no matter what," as seen in this sentence. Quoique (one word) means "although" or "even though." Both expressions trigger the subjunctive, but they are used differently.

Could I use n'importe quoi here instead to mean "whatever"?

No, n'importe quoi translates to "anything" or "nonsense" (like in Il dit n'importe quoi - "He is saying nonsense/whatever"). When you are setting up a concessive clause like "Whatever [someone] says...", you must use quoi que followed by the subjunctive.

Can I invert the subject and verb to say Quoi que dise le client?

Yes, absolutely! In fact, subject-verb inversion (Quoi que dise le client) is very common after quoi que, especially in written or slightly more elevated French. The standard word order used here (quoi que le client dise) is also perfectly correct.