Learn Hardcore French: Bien que Paul soit fatigué, il veut encore battre le mélange pendant que Marie range la cuisine. - Although Paul is tired, he still wants to beat the mixture while Marie tidies the kitchen.

Word

Bien que Paul soit fatigué, il veut encore battre le mélange pendant que Marie range la cuisine.

Meaning

Although Paul is tired, he still wants to beat the mixture while Marie tidies the kitchen.

Part of speech

sentence

Pronunciation

Course

Hardcore French

Lesson

Lesson 72

Breakdown of Bien que Paul soit fatigué, il veut encore battre le mélange pendant que Marie range la cuisine.

Questions & Answers about Bien que Paul soit fatigué, il veut encore battre le mélange pendant que Marie range la cuisine.

Why does the sentence start with bien que?

Bien que means although or even though. It introduces a contrast:

Bien que Paul soit fatigué = Although Paul is tired

The idea is that Paul is tired, but despite that, he still wants to keep doing something.

A very important grammar point is that bien que is normally followed by the subjunctive in French.

Why is it soit and not est after bien que?

Because bien que requires the subjunctive mood.

The verb here is être:

Indicative: il est
Subjunctive: il soit

So:

Bien que Paul est fatigué ❌
Bien que Paul soit fatigué ✅

French often uses the subjunctive after expressions that introduce emotion, doubt, necessity, judgment, or concession. Bien que is one of the most common triggers.

What exactly is soit here?