Language/French/Grammar/Subjunctive-versus-indicative-in-clauses-dependent-on-a-superlative-adjective
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Subjunctive versus indicative in clauses dependent on a superlative adjective
Clauses dependent on nouns modified by a superlative adjective have a verb in the subjunctive if the construction claims a unique status for the noun. For example:
- Ils ont acheté le plus grand sapin de Noël qu'ils aient pu trouver
They bought the biggest Christmas tree that they could find (They couldn't find a bigger tree, so it is unique)
But where the construction does not claim a unique status for the noun, the verb in the dependent clause is in the indicative:
- Ils ont acheté le plus grand sapin de Noël qu'ils ont pu transporter dans leur voiture
They bought the biggest Christmas tree that they could take in their car (there is no claim that it is the biggest Christmas tree available)
Once you've mastered this lesson, take a look at these related pages: Possessive determiners, Omission of the article, Gender of compound nouns & Active Voice and Passive Voice.
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