Breakdown of Il faut que la police attrape les voleurs qui ont fait le braquage.
qui
who
avoir
to have
faire
to do, to make
il
it (impersonal subject)
falloir
to be necessary / must (impersonal)
que
that (introducing a clause)
le voleur
the thief
attraper
to catch
la police
the police
le braquage
the heist
Questions & Answers about Il faut que la police attrape les voleurs qui ont fait le braquage.
Wait, does "Il faut que" trigger the subjunctive here? "attrape" looks like the regular present tense.
Yes, it's the subjunctive! The phrase Il faut que (It is necessary that / must) always requires the following verb to be in the subjunctive mood. Because attraper is a regular -er verb, its il/elle subjunctive form (attrape) happens to be spelled exactly the same as the present indicative.
Why is "la police attrape" singular when in English we usually say "the police catch" (plural)?
Since the lesson is about Passé Composé agreement, why is there no agreement on "fait" in "qui ont fait"?
Because faire uses the auxiliary avoir, and with avoir, the past participle only agrees with a direct object if it comes before the verb. Here, the direct object is le braquage (the heist), and it comes after ont fait. Therefore, fait stays in its default, non-agreed form.
Is "un braquage" the standard word for any robbery or theft?
No, un braquage is more specific. It refers to an armed robbery, a hold-up, or a heist (like a bank robbery). If you are talking about a standard theft or a burglary, you would use un vol or un cambriolage instead.
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