In the sentence, "Pour moi, le pire, c'est le fait que le gouvernement ait contourné le processus démocratique en empêchant l'Assemblée Nationale de voter pour ou contre cette loi.", why is the subjunctive used? Is it simply a variation of "C'est important que..."? I had not seen this usage before. Thanks.
Use of subjunctive
- « Back to Q&A Forum
- « Previous questionNext question »
‘Le fait que …’ has optional use of the subjunctive. When the following statement is subjective, disputable or uncertain, the subjunctive is used to convey this. If followed by a verifiable, known fact, the subjunctive is not needed.
In other words, ‘le fait que ..’ is used to express both certain and presumed or supposed ‘facts’, and the presence of the subjunctive or not conveys the difference.
Whereas ‘le fait est que …’ does not take the subjunctive.
https://www.lawlessfrench.com/subjunctivisor/le-fait-que/
https://www.lawlessfrench.com/subjunctivisor/le-fait-est-que//
As an alternative explanation for the subjunctive: the superlative is also often cause to resort to the subjunctive if it isn't an objective statement and expresses an opinion. Le pire c'est... is the superlative.
It's entirely OK that the subjunctive covers two needs.
Don't have an account yet? Join today
Find your French level for FREE
Test your French to the CEFR standard
Find your French level