Breakdown of Le prix change selon que vous expédiez la marchandise par voie maritime ou terrestre.
vous
you (plural/formal)
ou
or
le prix
the price
changer
to change
par
by, through / out of (motive)
la marchandise
the merchandise
selon que
depending on whether
expédier
to dispatch
la voie
the route (of transport)
maritime
maritime
terrestre
land
Questions & Answers about Le prix change selon que vous expédiez la marchandise par voie maritime ou terrestre.
Why is expédiez in the indicative mood here? Doesn't 'whether' usually trigger the subjunctive?
Even though it presents an alternative, the phrase selon que (depending on whether) is always followed by the indicative mood, not the subjunctive. It describes real, factual choices rather than subjective doubts. Keep in mind that for vous with an -er verb like expédier, the indicative and subjunctive forms happen to be identical anyway!
Why use par voie maritime instead of just par la mer?
While you could say par la mer (by sea), par voie maritime (literally 'by maritime way') is a standard, slightly more formal expression used in business, shipping, and logistics. The structure par voie + adjective is very common in French for modes of transport or communication, such as par voie électronique (electronically).
Why is la marchandise singular here when English often uses the plural 'goods'?
Why isn't the word voie repeated before terrestre?
Because maritime and terrestre are both adjectives modifying the exact same noun (voie), you don't need to repeat the noun. You can simply connect the two descriptive adjectives with ou, essentially meaning 'by maritime or land route'.
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