Breakdown of Qu'il reste craintif est normal avant de l'apprivoiser.
être
to be
il
he
rester
to stay
le
him, it (masculine direct object pronoun)
que
that (introducing a clause)
normal
normal
avant de
before (+ infinitive)
craintif
fearful
apprivoiser
to tame
Questions & Answers about Qu'il reste craintif est normal avant de l'apprivoiser.
Is reste in the indicative or subjunctive mood here?
It is in the subjunctive. When a sentence starts with a Que clause acting as the subject (meaning 'That...' or 'The fact that...'), the verb in that clause must always be in the subjunctive. Even though the indicative and subjunctive forms of regular -er verbs like rester look identical for il, the rule demands the subjunctive here.
Could I say Le fait qu'il reste craintif instead of just Qu'il reste craintif?
Why do we use avant de + infinitive instead of avant que + subjunctive here?
Avant de is followed by an infinitive and is used when the statement is general, or when the subject of both actions is the same. Because this sentence is a general statement about taming an animal, the infinitive l'apprivoiser is the most natural choice. If you wanted to specify exactly who is doing the taming, you would need avant que + subjunctive (for example, avant que tu ne l'apprivoises).
Does apprivoiser just mean to domesticate an animal?
It means to tame, but it carries a softer, more emotional nuance than simply domesticating (domestiquer). It is often used for building trust with a wild or fearful animal (famously used in 'The Little Prince'), and can even be used metaphorically for people to mean winning someone over or breaking the ice.
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