Breakdown of Il semble que l'apparence soit ambiguë.
être
to be
il
it (impersonal subject)
que
that (introducing a clause)
sembler
to seem
ambigu
ambiguous
l'apparence
the appearance (f)
Questions & Answers about Il semble que l'apparence soit ambiguë.
Why do we use the subjunctive soit in this sentence?
Because the sentence starts with Il semble que (It seems that). In French, this structure expresses objective doubt or a mere impression that might be false, which triggers the subjunctive.
How would the sentence change if we used Il me semble que (It seems to me that) instead?
Why does the feminine adjective ambiguë have a tréma (two dots) on the final letter?
The tréma tells you to pronounce the u. The masculine form is ambigu. When we add an e to agree with the feminine noun l'apparence, the ending becomes -gue. Without the tréma, that would be pronounced with a hard G and a silent U, like in fatigue. The dots ensure you still pronounce the U sound before the silent E.
Could I use Il paraît que instead of Il semble que to mean the same thing?
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