Même quand leurs opinions sont très différentes, elles essaient de rester calmes et respectueuses.

Even when their opinions are very different, they try to stay calm and respectful.

Breakdown of Même quand leurs opinions sont très différentes, elles essaient de rester calmes et respectueuses.

• être: to be
• et: and
• rester: to stay
• de: of
• leur: their
• très: very
• essayer: to try
• calme: calm
• différent: different
• même quand: even when
• l'opinion: the opinion
• elles: they
• respectueux: respectful

Questions & Answers about Même quand leurs opinions sont très différentes, elles essaient de rester calmes et respectueuses.

What does Même quand mean exactly, and how is it different from Même si?

Même quand means even when and introduces something that actually happens or is considered a real, repeated situation.

• Même quand leurs opinions sont très différentes = even when their opinions are very different (and this really happens / can regularly happen).

Même si is closer to even if / even though and focuses more on concession or hypothesis.

• Même si leurs opinions sont très différentes = even if / even though their opinions are very different (emphasis on the contrast, not on time).

In this sentence, Même quand underlines that this is a recurring real situation; Même si would be possible, but a bit more concessive in tone.

What is the difference between leur and leurs, and why is it leurs opinions here?

Leur / leurs agrees with the number of the thing owned, not with the number of owners:

• leur opinion = their opinion (one opinion, shared or seen as a single item)
• leurs opinions = their opinions (several opinions)

In the sentence, each person has her own opinion, so there are multiple opinions. That is why it is leurs opinions (plural opinions).

If it were just one shared opinion, you would say leur opinion.

Why is the subject elles and not ils?

Elles = they (all female group).
Ils = they (all male or mixed group; masculine is the default for mixed groups).

Since the adjectives later are calmes et respectueuses (feminine plural) and opinions is feminine, the sentence is clearly about a group of women, so French correctly uses elles.

If it were a mixed or all-male group, it would be:

• … ils essaient de rester calmes et respectueux.

Which verb form is essaient, and are there other correct spellings?

Essaient is the third person plural (they) form of essayer in the present tense:

• j’essaie
• tu essaies
• il / elle essaie
• nous essayons
• vous essayez
• ils / elles essaient

There is an alternative spelling essayent for ils / elles essayent, which is also accepted. Nowadays essaient (with -ai-) is more common and often preferred in writing, but both are correct.

Why is it essaient de rester and not essaient rester or essaient à rester?

In French, some verbs must be followed by de before another verb in the infinitive. Essayer is one of them:

• essayer de faire quelque chose = to try to do something

So the structure is:

• elles essaient de rester calmes
  they try to stay calm

Using à (essaient à rester) or nothing (essaient rester) would be incorrect here.

Why are calmes and respectueuses both plural and feminine? How does the agreement work?

Adjectives in French must agree in gender and number with the noun or pronoun they describe.

Here they describe elles (a group of women):

• feminine plural subject → adjectives must be feminine plural.

So:

• masculine singular: calme, respectueux
• feminine singular: calme, respectueuse
• masculine plural: calmes, respectueux
• feminine plural: calmes, respectueuses

Because elles is feminine plural, we get:

• calmes
• respectueuses

Why are there no articles before calmes and respectueuses?

After certain verbs like être, sembler, rester, French uses adjectives directly, without an article:

• être calme = to be calm
• rester calme = to stay calm
• rester calme et respectueux / respectueuse = to stay calm and respectful

In the sentence, rester is followed by adjectives describing the subject elles, so no article is needed:

• elles essaient de rester calmes et respectueuses

If you added something like a noun, you would use an article, but here they are pure adjectives, so they stand alone.

Why is it sont très différentes and not soient très différentes? Shouldn’t this be subjunctive?

With quand, French normally uses the indicative, not the subjunctive, because it introduces a real time situation (when X happens, Y happens).

• quand leurs opinions sont très différentes = when their opinions are very different (real situation)

The subjunctive soient is used after certain conjunctions and expressions of doubt, emotion, wish, etc., such as bien que, pour que, avant que. Quand does not trigger the subjunctive in standard usage.

So sont (indicative) is correct here.

Can the order of the two parts of the sentence be changed?

Yes. You can move the Même quand clause to the end:

• Elles essaient de rester calmes et respectueuses, même quand leurs opinions sont très différentes.

This is very natural in French. The meaning stays the same; only the emphasis changes slightly. Starting with Même quand… emphasizes the difficult situation first; ending with it emphasizes the effort they make, then the difficulty.

Why is différentes plural and feminine?

Différentes agrees with opinions:

• opinion in French is feminine: une opinion
• here we have several opinions: leurs opinions (feminine plural)
• the adjective must match: feminine plural différentes

So:

• une opinion différente (feminine singular)
• des opinions différentes (feminine plural)

In the sentence, leurs opinions → feminine plural → différentes.