Learn French: Dans ce groupe mondain, elle se comporte comme si la noblesse l'avait invitée. - In this high-society group, she behaves as if the nobility had invited her.

Dans ce groupe mondain, elle se comporte comme si la noblesse l'avait invitée.

In this high-society group, she behaves as if the nobility had invited her.

Breakdown of Dans ce groupe mondain, elle se comporte comme si la noblesse l'avait invitée.

Questions & Answers about Dans ce groupe mondain, elle se comporte comme si la noblesse l'avait invitée.

Why do we use the plus-que-parfait (avait invitée) here instead of the imparfait?

After comme si (as if), we use the imparfait for a hypothetical situation happening at the same time as the main verb. We use the plus-que-parfait for a hypothetical situation that would have happened before the main verb. Since the invitation would have happened before she started behaving this way, we use the plus-que-parfait.

Why is there an extra 'e' at the end of invitée?

In compound tenses like the plus-que-parfait, verbs conjugated with avoir usually don't agree with the subject. However, they do agree with a preceding direct object. Here, the direct object is l' (meaning la, referring to elle), which comes before the verb. Therefore, we add an 'e' to make invitée feminine.

The word mondain translates to 'high-society'. Does it have anything to do with le monde (the world)?

Yes! While le monde generally means 'the world' or 'people', historically le beau monde or simply le monde referred to high society. The adjective mondain comes from this, describing things related to the upper class, socializing, or high-society events.

Why is it elle se comporte and not just elle comporte?