Non use of Present tense 'nous permettons'

Stewart H.C1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

Non use of Present tense 'nous permettons'

"qui nous permettent entre autres de dater précisément des pigments."

Could you please explain why 'nous permettent' is used in the above sentence and not 'nous permettons'

Thank you 

Asked 3 years ago
CélineKwiziq team memberCorrect answer

Bonjour Stewart,

In this sentence, the subject of ‘permettent’ is 'qui' (= referring to ‘outils sophistiqués’) and therefore ‘permettre’ is conjugated in the third person of the plural form.

‘nous’ is an indirect object pronoun of the verb ‘permettre’ (= permettre à qqun de faire). See link: direct-indirect-object-pronouns

I hope this is helpful.

Chris W.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

The subject of the clause isn't nous (that's the COI), it is qui. And whatever qui relates to in the main clause (which you didn't show) must be 3rd person plural.

Non use of Present tense 'nous permettons'

"qui nous permettent entre autres de dater précisément des pigments."

Could you please explain why 'nous permettent' is used in the above sentence and not 'nous permettons'

Thank you 

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