Learn French: Il semble que cette interprétation soit concrète. - It seems that this interpretation is concrete.

Il semble que cette interprétation soit concrète.

It seems that this interpretation is concrete.

Breakdown of Il semble que cette interprétation soit concrète.

être

to be

this (before a noun)

it (impersonal subject)

que

that (introducing a clause)

Questions & Answers about Il semble que cette interprétation soit concrète.

Why do we use the subjunctive soit here instead of the indicative est?

The phrase il semble que (it seems that) expresses an objective appearance, doubt, or an unverified possibility. In French, this uncertainty requires the subjunctive mood, which is why we use soit.

How would the sentence change if it meant "It seems TO ME that this interpretation is concrete"?

You would say: Il me semble que cette interprétation est concrète. Adding the pronoun me completely changes the grammatical rule. Il me semble que expresses a personal opinion or certainty (similar to "I think that"), so it takes the indicative (est) rather than the subjunctive.

Why is the adjective spelled concrète with a grave accent?

The word interprétation is feminine, so the adjective must match. The masculine form is concret. In French, adjectives ending in -et usually form their feminine by changing to -ète (adding an e and a grave accent) to keep the pronunciation of the open "eh" sound.

Does il semble que always trigger the subjunctive?