Tenir à ce que

Question

I haven't come across this before. Could someone explain it's meaning?

Accepted Answer

Hi G, 
The expression 'tenir à ce que' is complex and thank you for pointing this out.
The verb 'tenir à quelque chose/quelqu'un' is used to convey when something is dear/important  to you -
Il tient beaucoup à elle = He is very attached to her / she is very dear to him 
You can add another verb like in,  tenir à faire -
Je tiens à y aller = I am determined to go 
Je tiens à vous dire ... = It's important to me to tell you
The sentence in the text is :
Nous tenions à ce que vous sachiez à quel point nous avons apprécié ... = It was very important for us that you knew to what extent we appreciated ....
Hope this helps!

Answer

Hi G,Tenir à ce que  + subjunctive  --> to insist that      (expressions of will - orders, advice)Or      "to make sure that"Hope this helps.Jim

Answer

Thank you Cécile and Jim !