Word
C'est à cause de mon travail que j'ai un empêchement, non que je sois distrait.
Meaning
It is because of my work that I have a scheduling conflict, not that I am distracted.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of C'est à cause de mon travail que j'ai un empêchement, non que je sois distrait.
je
I
être
to be
un
a / an (masculine)
avoir
to have
Questions & Answers about C'est à cause de mon travail que j'ai un empêchement, non que je sois distrait.
Why is sois in the subjunctive here?
The phrase non que (not that) is used to refute or deny a cause. Because you are expressing a rejected or hypothetical reason rather than an actual fact, it requires the subjunctive mood. That is why we use sois (the subjunctive of être) instead of the indicative suis.
Could I say ce n'est pas que je sois distrait instead of non que?
Yes, absolutely. Ce n'est pas que and non que mean the same thing and both trigger the subjunctive. Non que is just a slightly more formal and concise way to express this denied cause.
The word empêchement is translated as 'scheduling conflict'. How is it used in everyday French?
Why is the sentence structured as C'est... que... instead of just starting with J'ai un empêchement?
This is a structure called a cleft sentence, which is used to emphasize a specific part of a statement. By wrapping the cause in C'est... que... (It is... that...), the speaker strongly highlights work as the true reason, setting up a clear contrast for the rejected reason (non que je sois distrait) that comes next.