Il semble que Paul soit prêt.

Soit is the present subjunctive form of être.

After il semble que, French often uses the subjunctive because the speaker is presenting something as an impression, appearance, or possibility rather than a confirmed fact. So Il semble que Paul soit prêt suggests Paul appears to be ready, not Paul is definitely ready.

For a learner, soit is the safest and most standard choice here.

It means it seems that.

Literally:

• il = it
• semble = seems
• que = that

So the structure is:

Il semble que + clause
= It seems that + clause

It does not refer to Paul or to anything specific.

This is an impersonal il, like English it in:

• It seems that...
• It is raining
• It is important that...

So il is just part of the expression il semble que.

It is the third-person singular present subjunctive of être.

The present subjunctive of être is:

• que je sois
• que tu sois
• qu’il / elle / on soit
• que nous soyons
• que vous soyez
• qu’ils / elles soient

Because Paul is third-person singular, you use soit.

Yes, you may sometimes encounter that, because il semble que can vary depending on nuance and usage.

Very roughly:

• subjunctive = more cautious, more subjective, more about appearance
• indicative = more factual-sounding

So Il semble que Paul soit prêt is a very natural way to express uncertainty or appearance.

For learners, it is best to learn this sentence with soit.

Yes. That is a very common and natural alternative.

Compare:

• Il semble que Paul soit prêt
• Paul semble prêt

They mean almost the same thing:

• It seems that Paul is ready
• Paul seems ready

The second one is shorter and often feels more direct.

Yes.

Here, que introduces the subordinate clause Paul soit prêt.

Without que, this exact structure does not work. If you want to avoid que, you need a different structure, such as:

• Paul semble prêt
• Paul semble être prêt

So in Il semble que Paul soit prêt, que is required.

Because prêt is an adjective describing Paul, and Paul is masculine singular.

So the adjective must agree:

• masculine singular: prêt
• feminine singular: prête
• masculine plural: prêts
• feminine plural: prêtes

If the subject were Marie, you would say:

Il semble que Marie soit prête.

They are different words:

• prêt = ready
• près = near

So:

• Paul est prêt = Paul is ready
• Paul est près d’ici = Paul is near here

The accent matters.

There are two verbs, and they are not in the same mood:

• semble = present indicative
• soit = present subjunctive

So the sentence combines:

• a main clause in the present indicative
• a subordinate clause in the present subjunctive

This kind of combination is very common in French.

A simple approximate pronunciation is:

eel sahmbl kuh pol swa preh

A more precise IPA version is:

[il sɑ̃bl kə pɔl swa pʁɛ]

A few useful points:

• semble has a nasal vowel
• soit sounds like swa
• prêt sounds like prè
• the final t in prêt is not pronounced