Breakdown of Ils ont entouré l'agresseur comme s'il était un monstre.
être
to be
un
a / an (masculine)
il
he
ils
they (masculine/mixed)
avoir
to have
si
if
comme
like, as
le monstre
the monster
l'agresseur
the attacker (m)
entourer
to surround
Questions & Answers about Ils ont entouré l'agresseur comme s'il était un monstre.
Why is était in the imperfect tense rather than the subjunctive?
In French, the phrase comme si (as if) is always followed by the imperfect or pluperfect indicative to express a hypothetical situation. Even though English often uses the subjunctive here (as if he were), French strictly uses the imperfect (était), never the subjunctive.
Since our current lesson covers the ne explétif, could it ever be used after comme si?
No. The ne explétif is triggered by expressions of fear, prevention, or specific conjunctions like à moins que and avant que. Because comme si introduces a comparison or condition rather than a fear or obstacle, it does not trigger a ne explétif.
Why does si become s' in s'il? Does si always drop its vowel before another vowel?
Could you use encercler instead of entourer in this sentence?
Yes, encercler is an excellent synonym here. While entourer is the general word for to surround, encercler means to encircle or box someone in, which fits perfectly when talking about trapping an agresseur (attacker).
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