Indefinite Expressions Using the Subjunctive
When You Need to Cast the Net Widely
Table of Contents
A number of the expressions considered here are interrogatives transformed into indefinites by the addition of a (relative?) clause in the subjunctive mood. Thus:
1. Qui que…
| Interrogative | + Relative (?) clause in subjunctive | = Highly indefinite expression |
| Qui? (Who?) | + que tu sois (that you may be) | = Qui que tu sois (Whoever you are…) |
2. Où que…
| Où? (Where) | + que l’on aille (that one may go) | = Où que l’on aille (Wherever one goes…) |
3. D’où que…
| D’où? (From where = Whence?) | + qu’elle vienne (that she may come) | = D’où qu’elle vienne (Wherever she comes from…) |
4. Quoi que…
| Quoi? (What?) | + que je fasse (that I may do)
+ que je dise (that I may say) |
= Quoi que je fasse (Whatever I do…)
= Quoi que je dise (Whatever I say…) |
The various expressions using quelque (or the, aurally, identically similar quel que) are confusing, so I have put them in their own section.
A Cluster of Quelques
The word quelque in the following expressions can be either an adjective or an adverb (that is, it can modify either a noun or an adjective). The word quel, meanwhile, is exclusively an adjective.
5. Quelque + NOM + que
This is quelque as an attributive adjective, that is, an adjective right next to the noun it modifies, followed by que, followed by a subject and a transitive verb in the subjunctive. The noun modified by quelque(s) is always the direct object of the verb. Also, since quelque is an adjective, it agrees with its noun in number (i.e., in the plural it adds an s.)
Two patterns are possible, depending on whether the subject of the verb is a noun or a pronoun.
Quelque(s) + NOUN(s) + que + TRANSITIVE VERB + NOUN SUBJECT
- Quelques plaintes que prétende porter Monsieur Tibelle contre moi… (Whatever complaints Mr Tibelle is planning to bring against me…)
- Quelques obstacles que craigne ton mari… (Whatever obstacles your husband / fears / may fear…)
- Quelques obstacles qu’aient rencontrés les citadins… (Whatever obstacles the city-dwellers [may] have encountered…)
Quelque(s) + NOUN(s) + que + PRONOUN SUBJECT + TRANSITIVE VERB
- Quelques plaintes qu’il prétende porter contre moi… (Whatever complaints he is planning to present against me…)
- Quelques obstacles que tu craignes… (Whatever obstacles you fear…)
- Quelques obstacles que tu aies rencontrés… (Whatever obtacles you [may] have encountered…)
A slight variation on this formula, de quelque manière que, allows one to say “However” (in the sense of “In whatever way (someone does something).” (This “However” is not the same as the concessive “However,” for which see below.)
De + quelque manière + que + CLAUSE (SVC)
- De quelque manière que vous présentiez la chose… (However you present the matter…)
Note also:
de quelque manière que ce soit = “Of any kind whatsoever”
- Aucune atteinte à notre liberté de quelque maniére que ce soit ne sera permise. (No offense of any kind whatsoever to our liberty will be allowed.)
7. Quel + que … NOM
Quel in its usual guise is the interrogative adjective:
Quel homme? Quelle femme? Quels chapeaux? Quelles maisons? (Which man? Which woman? Which hats? Which houses?)
With a change of intonation and punctuation, it can be used in an exclamation:
Quel homme! Quelle femme! Quels chapeaux! Quelles maisons! (What a man! What a woman! What hats! What houses!)
Quel can also be used in questions as a predicate adjective, in which case it agrees with subject of the verb être:
- Quelle est votre nationalité? (What [i.e., Which] is your nationality?)
- Quels sont leurs griefs? (What [i.e., Which] are their complaints?)
By inserting a “connecting” que and putting the verb être into the subjunctive, you make an indefinite expression.
Quel(le)(s) + que + (ÊTRE au subjonctif) + NOUN SUBJECT
- Quelle que soit votre nationalité, vous pourrez profiter de cette offre. (Whatever your nationality / is / may be, you can take advantage of this offer.)
- Quels que soient leurs griefs, nous y remédierons. (Whatever their complaints / are / may be, we will provide a remedy for them.
The order when the subject is a pronoun:
Quel(le)(s) + que + PRONOUN SUBJECT + (ÊTRE au subjonctif)
- Nous remédierons à leurs griefs, quels qu’ils soient. (We will provide a remedy for their complaints, whatever they / are / may be.)
8. Quelque + ADJECTIF + que
The quelque in this case, since it is being used as an adverb, is invariable. The adjective it modifies, however, agrees with the subject of the verb être. As in cases above, the order varies according to whether the subject is a noun or a pronoun.
Quelque + (ADJECTIVE) + que + (ÊTRE) + NOUN SUBJECT
- Quelques légitimes que soient leurs griefs… (However legitimate their complaints / are / may be /…)
Quelque + (ADJECTIVE) + que PRONOUN SUBJECT + (ÊTRE)
- Quelques légitimes qu’ils soient… (However legitimate they / are / may be /…)
Various other words can be used in place of quelque; in all cases, the word functions as an adverb intensifying or, if you like, “indefinitizing” the adjective:
Substitutions: Quelque = Pour = Tout = Si = Aussi
For more on this construction, see:
The Language File French Concessions. Part IV. “However” Expressions.
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