Breakdown of Espérez-vous que le mage fasse un sortilège ?
un
a / an (masculine)
vous
you (plural/formal)
faire
to do, to make
espérer
to hope
que
that (introducing a clause)
le mage
the mage
le sortilège
the spell (magic)
Questions & Answers about Espérez-vous que le mage fasse un sortilège ?
Why is fasse in the subjunctive here instead of the indicative?
The verb espérer (to hope) is an exception to the usual rules for verbs of emotion. When used in an affirmative statement, it takes the indicative because it frames the hope as a probable reality. But in questions, like Espérez-vous que, or in negative sentences, doubt is introduced into the equation, which triggers the subjunctive (fasse).
I recognize faire, but why is it spelled fasse here?
Fasse is the present subjunctive form of faire for the third-person singular (le mage). Faire is highly irregular in the subjunctive; instead of building from the present indicative 'ils' form like most verbs do, it uses the special root fass- for all subjects.
Would the mood change if I asked the question using est-ce que instead of inversion?
No, the subjunctive is still required. If you ask Est-ce que vous espérez que le mage fasse un sortilège ?, you still use fasse because the sentence remains a question expressing uncertainty. The inversion (espérez-vous) simply makes the phrasing slightly more formal.
What is the difference between un sortilège and un sort?
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