Breakdown of Soit que le travail soit plus dur qu'avant, soit que ce soit la lassitude, il s'arrête.
être
to be
il
he
ce
it / this (with être)
le travail
the job
s'arrêter
to stop
plus
more
que
than (in comparisons)
dur
hard, tough
avant
before
soit que
whether it is because
la lassitude
the weariness
Questions & Answers about Soit que le travail soit plus dur qu'avant, soit que ce soit la lassitude, il s'arrête.
There are four instances of the word 'soit' here! How do I tell them apart?
This sentence is a great tongue-twister! The first and third instances of soit are part of the conjunction pair soit que... soit que... (meaning 'whether... or...'). The second and fourth instances are the subjunctive form of the verb être (to be) matching the subjects le travail and ce.
Why do we have to use the subjunctive after 'soit que'?
The structure soit que... soit que... presents alternative hypotheses or possibilities. Because these are unconfirmed scenarios acting as the potential reasons for why he stops, French requires the subjunctive to express that uncertainty.
In the second part, why is it 'ce soit la lassitude' instead of just 'soit la lassitude'?
Every conjugated verb needs a subject. Since la lassitude is a noun introduced by a definite article (la), we follow the standard rule of using c'est (instead of il est) before a modified noun. When put into the subjunctive, c'est simply becomes ce soit.
Could I use 'ou que' instead of repeating 'soit que' for the second option?
Learn Soit que le travail soit plus dur qu'avant, soit que ce soit la lassitude, il s'arrête and more in French
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free