How would I translate the sentence "it was good that the water was not cold?" into French? Would I need to use the subjunctive?
Merci
yes you would use subjunctive,
something like:
il etait bon que l'eau n'etait pas froid
(accents on the first e in both etaits i think)
sorry i meant imperfect tense
Thank you for using the Jiskha Homework Help Forum. C'était (or "Il était") bon que l'eau n'ait pas été froide.
The Past (Imperfect) Subjunctive is literally gone from spoken speech and you would probably only see it in literature. The Perfect Subjunctive is commonly used. Bill is correct that the impersonal expression (c'est/il est...bon) is judgment and uses the Subjunctive.
The word l'eau is a feminine word so the adjective froide will reflect that.
Mme
il était bon que l'eau n'ait pas été froide
To translate the sentence "it was good that the water was not cold" into French, you can use the phrase "C'était bien que l'eau ne soit pas froide."
The subjunctive mood is indeed needed in this sentence. In French, when expressing doubt, uncertainty, or subjective opinions, the subjunctive is often used. The phrase "que l'eau ne soit pas froide" is an example of the subjunctive mood. The verb "être" (to be) is conjugated in the present subjunctive form "soit" to express the subjective nature of the statement.
Here's a breakdown of the translation:
- "It was good" translates to "C'était bien" in French.
- "That the water" translates to "que l'eau" in French.
- "Was not cold" translates to "ne soit pas froide" in French.
Remember to use the subjunctive form when expressing subjective opinions in French.