Learn French: Il semble que la solution soit évidente. - It seems that the solution is obvious.

The phrase il semble que expresses an objective appearance that leaves room for doubt, subjectivity, or uncertainty. Because of this lack of certainty, French requires the subjunctive mood. That is why we use soit (the subjunctive of être) rather than the indicative est.

What would happen if I said il me semble que instead?

If you add me, you change the meaning to a personal opinion, much like saying I believe that. Because il me semble que shows more certainty in your own mind, it triggers the indicative mood. You would say Il me semble que la solution est évidente.

Is évidente just a formal way of saying evident?

While it translates to evident, évident (and its feminine form évidente) is the most common way to say obvious in everyday French. It does not sound overly formal or academic like evident sometimes does in spoken English.

Can I drop the word que like we sometimes drop that in English?

No, you cannot. In English, you can say It seems the solution is obvious, leaving out the word that. In French, the conjunction que is entirely mandatory and must always be included to connect the two halves of the sentence.