Help me understand when, "be" in subjuncti | French Q & A

Michael P.C1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

Help me understand when, "be" in subjunctive, which auxiliary verb to choose-Avoir or Être

I initially wrote my answer with avoir...."n'y ait"....But because I see "be", I stop and question which auxiliary verb to use.I changed my answer to use être.... "n'y soit"....Please help me understand how to determine which auxiliary verb to use.Here was the test question...Nous avons ouvert les fenêtres de peur qu'il ________ une fuite de gaz.We opened the windows out of fear there might be a gas leak.

This question relates to:French lesson "De peur que + ne explétif + the subjunctive mood (Le Subjonctif) = for fear that in French"

Asked 5 years ago

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Chris W.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor Correct answer

Hi Michael, don't base your choice of auxiliary verb on the English sentence. Look at the French sentence given.

There is a gas leak. -- Il y a une fuite de gaz.

The French phrase explicitly uses avoir. Hence the missing word is a form of avoir: ait.

Like15 years ago

Michael P. asked:

Help me understand when, "be" in subjunctive, which auxiliary verb to choose-Avoir or Être

I initially wrote my answer with avoir...."n'y ait"....But because I see "be", I stop and question which auxiliary verb to use.I changed my answer to use être.... "n'y soit"....Please help me understand how to determine which auxiliary verb to use.Here was the test question...Nous avons ouvert les fenêtres de peur qu'il ________ une fuite de gaz.We opened the windows out of fear there might be a gas leak.

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