Breakdown of Il garde ces vieux centimes sous prétexte qu'ils sont rares.
être
to be
il
he
ils
they (masculine/mixed)
ce
this (before a noun)
vieux
old
garder
to keep
rare
rare
le centime
the centime
sous prétexte que
on the pretext that
Questions & Answers about Il garde ces vieux centimes sous prétexte qu'ils sont rares.
Does sous prétexte que trigger the subjunctive since it implies the reason might be fake?
No, it takes the indicative! Even though a "pretext" suggests the speaker doubts the excuse, sous prétexte que simply reports the reason being claimed as a fact in the subject's mind. That's why we use the present indicative sont rather than the subjunctive soient.
What is the exact nuance of using sous prétexte que instead of simply parce que here?
Why is it vieux centimes? Doesn't the masculine form change to vieil sometimes?
Vieux describes age, so it follows the rule of going before the noun. You're thinking of the rule where the singular masculine vieux changes to vieil before a vowel sound (like un vieil ami). However, in the plural, it is always vieux for masculine nouns, regardless of the starting letter. Plus, centimes starts with a consonant anyway!
Is centimes specifically referring to the old French franc currency?
It could definitely refer to old franc coins (which fits perfectly with the word vieux here), but centimes is also the everyday French word for euro cents. French speakers prefer saying centimes because the official European word cent sounds exactly like the French word for one hundred (cent).
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