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Même si le vent souffle, le phare peut guider l'équipage.

Même si le vent souffle, le phare peut guider l'équipage.
Even if the wind blows, the lighthouse can guide the crew.
From Lesson 348:Concession (même si)·French

Questions & Answers about Même si le vent souffle, le phare peut guider l'équipage.

Since même si introduces a concession or a hypothetical, shouldn't souffle be in the subjunctive?
It is a very common trap, but no! While other concession conjunctions like bien que (although) require the subjunctive, même si strictly takes the indicative mood. It functions using the exact same tense rules as a standard si (if) clause.
Does même si mean "even if" or "even though" in this sentence?
It can actually be either! French doesn't always grammatically distinguish between the hypothetical "even if" and the factual "even though" the way English does. You have to rely on context to know whether the wind is currently blowing or if it's just a future possibility.
Is le phare related to the French word for car headlights?
Yes, exactly! Un phare primarily means a lighthouse. Because car headlights project a powerful beam of light to guide a driver in a similar way, they are also called les phares.
If the next word started with a vowel instead of le, would même si contract to même s'?
The word si only ever contracts (drops the 'i') before il and ils, becoming s'il and s'ils. It never contracts before any other vowel or word. For example, it would be même si elle souffle (even if it blows), not même s'elle.

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