Breakdown of Qui que ce soit, vous dites que le statut VIP est nécessaire.
être
to be
ce
it / this (with être)
vous
you (plural/formal)
dire
to say, to tell
que
that (introducing a clause)
nécessaire
necessary
le statut
the status
qui que
whoever (no matter who)
VIP
VIP
Questions & Answers about Qui que ce soit, vous dites que le statut VIP est nécessaire.
Why do we use the subjunctive soit after qui que here?
The phrase qui que (whoever) introduces a concessive clause, meaning no matter who. In French, expressions of concession like this always require the subjunctive to show that the exact identity of the person is uncertain or does not change the outcome. Therefore, we use soit, the subjunctive of être.
Why is there a ce in qui que ce soit? Could I just say qui que soit?
Why doesn't vous dites que trigger the subjunctive for est nécessaire?
The subjunctive is only triggered for the first clause by qui que. The main verb dites is affirmative, stating a fact about what you are saying. Verbs of declaring or thinking like dire only trigger the subjunctive in a subordinate clause if they are negative (vous ne dites pas que) or in an inverted question. Since it is affirmative here, est stays in the indicative.
I have also seen qui que ce soit used to mean anyone instead of whoever. How can I tell the difference?
It depends on the sentence structure. When placed at the beginning of a sentence and set off by a comma, as it is here, it introduces a condition and means whoever it may be. When used as an object in a negative sentence, like il ne veut pas voir qui que ce soit, it translates to anyone (he does not want to see anyone).
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