Breakdown of Pourvu que le noyau soit entouré d'une membrane !
être
to be
une
a / an (feminine)
de
of / from / any (in negative sentences) / about (concerning)
pourvu que
provided that / let's hope that (expressing a wish)
entourer
to surround
le noyau
the nucleus
la membrane
the membrane
Questions & Answers about Pourvu que le noyau soit entouré d'une membrane !
Why do we use d' (from de) here instead of par to say "by a membrane"?
In the passive voice, the agent (the thing doing the action) is usually introduced by par. However, verbs describing a state, a condition, or an emotion take de instead. Because being surrounded (entouré) describes a continuous physical state rather than a specific, active action, we use de.
Why is the verb soit in the subjunctive?
The expression pourvu que always triggers the subjunctive mood because it expresses a wish, a condition, or a hope rather than an established fact. Because of this, the indicative est becomes the subjunctive soit.
Does pourvu que always mean "let's hope that"?
It usually means "provided that" or "as long as" when it connects two clauses (for example, I will go provided that you come). However, when it stands at the beginning of an exclamatory sentence like this one, it translates to "let's hope that" or "if only".
If une membrane is feminine, why doesn't entouré have an extra "e" for agreement?
In the passive voice, the past participle agrees with the grammatical subject of the sentence, not with the agent introduced by de or par. The subject here is le noyau, which is masculine singular, so entouré takes no extra feminine or plural endings.
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