De peur que + ne explétif + Le Subjonctif = For fear that

John S.C1Kwiziq community member

De peur que + ne explétif + Le Subjonctif = For fear that

My reflexive response to translation of 'We opened the windows out of fear there might be a gas leak.' was 'Nous avons ouvert les fenêtres de peur qu'il ne puisse y avoir une fuite de gaz.' given that there is a sense of conditional pouvoir in the translation ('there could be or 'might be', rather than the softer 'we're not sure' sense of avoir in the subjunctive. Any thoughts?

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

Asked 2 years ago

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CélineNative French expert teacher in KwiziqCorrect answer

Bonjour John,

Your answer is grammatically correct and in a everyday conversation it would be perfectly acceptable. However, if 'there could be' was expected, a hint asking to use 'pouvoir' would have been displayed so as to avoid any ambiguity. As there is none, the expected answer is simply to use 'there might be' (= qu'il n'y ait).

I hope this is helpful.

Bonne journée !

Like02 years ago

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