French language Q&A Forum

I don't understand why arrivions was incorrect and soyons arrivés correct when:

The correct translation for "They need us to arrive before the ceremony begins" is "Ils ont besoin que nous arrivions avant le début de la cérémonie."

Explanation

Ils ont besoin que nous arrivions avant le début de la cérémonie

This phrase uses the subjunctive present (nous arrivions) of "arriver."

It expresses a requirement concerning a future action (our arriving) that must happen before a specific event (the ceremony starts).

This is the most natural and idiomatic way in French to say that someone needs you to arrive before a certain point in time.

Ils ont besoin que nous soyons arrivés avant le début de la cérémonie

This form uses the past subjunctive (nous soyons arrivés).

It emphasizes the state of having already arrived by the time the ceremony begins, which can sound overly formal, final, or focused on the end result.

In everyday French, this structure is less commonly used for planned requirements about the future.

Why?

French typically uses the present subjunctive ("nous arrivions") after verbs that express necessity or desire (like "avoir besoin que") unless you need to stress that the action will be completed before the reference point in the past or for a resultative state.

In the context of "They need us to arrive before the ceremony begins," the English meaning aligns exactly with the present subjunctive in French.

So, the most natural and correct answer is:

Ils ont besoin que nous arrivions avant le début de la cérémonie.

If your intent was, "They need us to have already arrived before the ceremony begins," you might use the past subjunctive, but that's not the usual reading of the English sentence.

Elsa gave her little brother his toy back. -> Kwiziq answer

Could this also be translated as "Elsa gave her toy back to her little brother"? How do you know who the toy belongs to?

Thanks