Word
Le patron a suggéré que la police intervienne.
Meaning
The boss suggested that the police intervene.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Le patron a suggéré que la police intervienne.
avoir
to have
que
that (introducing a clause)
la police
the police
le patron
the boss
Questions & Answers about Le patron a suggéré que la police intervienne.
Why is intervienne in the present subjunctive when the main clause (a suggéré) is in the past?
In modern French, the rules for the subjunctive sequence of tenses have been simplified. Even though the main verb is in a past tense (a suggéré), we use the present subjunctive (intervienne) for an action that is meant to happen at the same time or after the main action. The traditional imperfect subjunctive (intervînt) is now reserved for very formal literature.
Does suggérer que always trigger the subjunctive?
Yes. Verbs expressing suggestions, commands, or desires (like suggérer que, exiger que, or demander que) require the subjunctive. This is because they express an intention or a desired outcome rather than stating a concrete fact.
Why does intervienne have a double n?
Intervenir is conjugated just like venir. To form the present subjunctive, you take the ils/elles form of the present indicative (ils interviennent), drop the -ent, and add the subjunctive endings. This keeps the double n for the singular subjects and the third-person plural: que la police intervienne.
Could we use the past subjunctive (soit intervenue) in this sentence?