Breakdown of Soit que le retard soit involontaire, soit que ce soit la malchance, je m'inquiète.
je
I
être
to be
ce
it / this (with être)
le retard
the delay
s'inquiéter
to worry
soit que
whether it is because
la malchance
the bad luck (unluckiness)
involontaire
unintentional
Questions & Answers about Soit que le retard soit involontaire, soit que ce soit la malchance, je m'inquiète.
Why does the word soit appear four times in this sentence?
The word soit plays two different roles here. The first and third are part of the conjunction soit que... soit que... meaning 'whether... or...'. The second and fourth are the subjunctive form of the verb être (to be) matching le retard and ce. So it structurally means 'Whether it be that the delay be unintentional, or it be that it be bad luck...'.
Does soit que... soit que... always require the subjunctive mood?
Yes. Expressions of alternative concession like soit que... soit que... introduce a hypothesis or uncertainty about which of two situations is the true cause. This uncertainty triggers the subjunctive mood for the verbs that follow them, which is why we use soit instead of the indicative est.
Why do we say ce soit la malchance instead of elle soit la malchance?
Why is it je m'inquiète instead of just j'inquiète?
S'inquiéter is a reflexive verb that means 'to worry' in the sense of feeling worried yourself. If you just used the non-reflexive j'inquiète, it would mean you are worrying someone else, and you would need to specify who you are bothering or alarming.
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