Breakdown of Que cet animal guérisse est essentiel pour le sauver, parce qu'il le mérite autant que nous.
être
to be
il
he
l'animal
the animal (m)
nous
we / us (object pronoun)
pour
for
ce
this (before a noun)
parce que
because
le
him, it (masculine direct object pronoun)
que
than (in comparisons)
autant
as much, as many
sauver
to save (a life, rescue)
essentiel
essential
mériter
to deserve
guérir
to heal (illnesses, people)
Questions & Answers about Que cet animal guérisse est essentiel pour le sauver, parce qu'il le mérite autant que nous.
Why does this sentence start with Que and use the subjunctive guérisse?
This is exactly what the current lesson covers! The clause Que cet animal guérisse ("That this animal heals") acts as the subject of the main verb est. When a Que clause is the subject of a sentence, especially when the main clause expresses a judgment, necessity, or emotion (like est essentiel), the verb in that subject clause must take the subjunctive mood.
There are two le pronouns in this sentence (le sauver and le mérite). Do they replace the same type of thing?
Not quite! The first le in pour le sauver is a standard direct object pronoun referring back to a specific masculine noun (cet animal). The second le in il le mérite is a neutral pronoun. It does not stand for a specific noun, but rather replaces the entire preceding concept (the act of being saved).
How do I know the subjunctive form of guérir is guérisse? Is it irregular?
It is completely regular for a standard -ir verb. To form the subjunctive, you take the present tense ils form (ils guérissent), drop the -ent to get your stem (guériss-), and add the subjunctive endings. For cet animal (equivalent to il), the ending is -e, giving us guérisse.
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