Breakdown of Nous avons recueilli un oiseau, mais il est difficile de l'apprivoiser.
être
to be
un
a / an (masculine)
mais
but
nous
we / us (object pronoun)
avoir
to have
difficile
difficult
de
of / from / any (in negative sentences) / about (concerning)
il
it (impersonal subject)
le
him, it (masculine direct object pronoun)
l'oiseau
the bird (m)
recueillir
to take in
apprivoiser
to tame
Questions & Answers about Nous avons recueilli un oiseau, mais il est difficile de l'apprivoiser.
How could we rewrite the second half of this sentence to use the "Que + subjonctif" structure we are currently studying?
You could say ...mais qu'on l'apprivoise est difficile (but that we tame it is difficult). However, French speakers strongly prefer the impersonal structure used in this sentence (il est difficile de...) because it sounds much lighter and more natural than starting with a Que clause when the subject is just a general "we" or "people".
Why does this sentence use il est difficile de instead of c'est difficile à?
When "it" is just a dummy pronoun setting up a general statement, French uses the impersonal il est + [adjective] + de + [infinitive]. You would only use c'est + [adjective] + à + [infinitive] when "it" points back to a specific, previously mentioned noun that is the target of the action (for example: Cet oiseau, c'est difficile à apprivoiser).
Does recueillir just mean "to collect"?
It can mean to gather or collect (like data or rainwater), but when applied to animals or people, recueillir specifically means to "take in," "rescue," or "give shelter to" a living creature in need.
Why is the object pronoun l' placed right before apprivoiser?
As a general rule in French, object pronouns go directly in front of the specific verb they logically belong to. Since the bird is the object of the taming, l' must be placed right before the infinitive apprivoiser, rather than earlier in the sentence.
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