Breakdown of Quelques calmars géants que le sonar détecte, l'équipage reste calme.
rester
to stay
calme
calm
que
that (introducing a clause)
l'équipage
the crew (m)
le sonar
the sonar
quelque
however / whatever (quelques)
détecter
to detect
le calmar
the squid
géant
giant
Questions & Answers about Quelques calmars géants que le sonar détecte, l'équipage reste calme.
Why does Quelques have an "s" here?
In the quelque(s) ... que structure, when quelque is placed directly before a noun (like calmars géants), it acts as an adjective and must agree in number with that noun. Since there are multiple squids, it takes an "s". If it were placed before an adjective or adverb, it would stay invariable (quelque).
Is détecte in the indicative or subjunctive mood?
It is in the subjunctive. The phrase quelque(s) ... que always triggers the subjunctive mood. Because détecter is a regular -er verb, its third-person singular form (détecte) looks identical in both the present indicative and the present subjunctive.
Since a crew is made of many people, why is the verb reste singular?
Could I use n'importe quel instead to mean "whatever"?
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