Learn French: Pour éprouvante que soit la route vers le pôle, nous continuons. - However grueling the route to the pole may be, we continue.

Pour éprouvante que soit la route vers le pôle, nous continuons.

However grueling the route to the pole may be, we continue.

Breakdown of Pour éprouvante que soit la route vers le pôle, nous continuons.

être

to be

nous

we / us (object pronoun)

Questions & Answers about Pour éprouvante que soit la route vers le pôle, nous continuons.

How does pour éprouvante que translate to "however grueling"?

This is an advanced concessive structure: pour + adjective + que. Even though pour usually means "for," in this specific pattern it translates to "however [adjective]" or "no matter how [adjective]."

Why is the verb soit placed before its subject la route?

In the pour + adjective + que construction, it is highly formal and very common to invert the subject and the verb when the subject is a noun phrase (like la route vers le pôle). You will almost always see the subjunctive verb placed directly after que in this structure.

Is the subjunctive soit required here?

Yes, the subjunctive is mandatory. Concessive phrases that mean "however" or "no matter how" (like pour... que, si... que, or aussi... que) introduce an extreme situation or an element of subjectivity, which triggers the subjunctive in French.

Why does éprouvante have a feminine ending if it is placed at the beginning of the sentence?