Breakdown of Il semble que l'apparence soit plus importante que je ne pensais.
je
I
être
to be
important
important
il
it (impersonal subject)
plus
more
penser
to think
que
than (in comparisons)
sembler
to seem
ne
expletive 'ne' (no negative meaning)
l'apparence
the appearance (f)
Questions & Answers about Il semble que l'apparence soit plus importante que je ne pensais.
Why is soit in the subjunctive here?
Because il semble que expresses a general sense of doubt or uncertainty, it requires the subjunctive mood (soit is the subjunctive of être). If you added a pronoun to make it a personal opinion, like il me semble que (it seems to me that), it would show more certainty and take the indicative: il me semble que l'apparence est...
What is the word ne doing in que je ne pensais? Is it making the phrase negative?
No, this isn't a negative! It is called the ne explétif, an optional and formal ne that doesn't change the meaning. It is frequently used in written or elegant French after comparisons of inequality like plus... que (more... than) or moins... que (less... than) to emphasize the gap between reality and expectation. In everyday spoken French, you would just say que je pensais.
Why use the imperfect tense (pensais) instead of the passé composé (ai pensé)?
The imperfect is used here because it describes a past state of mind or an ongoing belief. You are comparing the present reality to what you used to think over an unspecified period of time, rather than a single, isolated thought that started and ended quickly.
Could I use paraît instead of semble in this sentence?
Yes, you could say il paraît que, but the grammar would change. Il paraît que (rumor has it / it appears that) expresses a fact that has been heard or observed, so it takes the indicative mood instead of the subjunctive: il paraît que l'apparence est...
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