Breakdown of Autant le cyclisme est fatigant, autant le golf est relaxant.
être
to be
autant
as much, as many
fatigant
tiring
relaxant
relaxing
le cyclisme
the cycling
le golf
the golf
Questions & Answers about Autant le cyclisme est fatigant, autant le golf est relaxant.
Why does this sentence use the indicative mood (est) instead of the subjunctive after autant?
Because the autant... autant... structure is used to state objective facts and establish a parallel contrast between two realities. It means 'As much as X is true, Y is true,' so there is no uncertainty or subjectivity that would trigger the subjunctive.
Why is fatigant spelled without a 'u' after the 'g', even though the verb is fatiguer?
Why do we need the article le before both cyclisme and golf?
In French, definite articles (le, la, les) are required when you talk about concepts, categories, or activities in a general sense. While English just uses the bare nouns 'cycling' and 'golf', French requires the articles to show you mean the sports as a whole.
Can I change the word order to put autant next to the adjectives, like 'Le cyclisme est autant fatigant...'?
No, to use this specific parallel contrast, autant must sit at the very beginning of each clause. It literally frames the two ideas: Autant [first fact], autant [second fact]. If you want to put the subjects first, you would need a different structure using a conjunction like alors que (whereas).
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