# FR: il est possible que + mode



## soph_groovy

Hello

I am trying to say this phrase in french:
It is possible that a complete smoking ban would cause many smokers to give it up

After 'il est possible que' is it possible to use conditional?

Merci
Sophie

*Moderator note:* Multiple threads merged to create this one.  See also several related threads:
FR: il est probable que + mode
FR: c'est possible que + mode
FR: il se peut que / il est possible que + mode
FR: il y a de fortes chances / il est fort probable/possible que + mode
Il est probable/possible que + mode - forum Français Seulement


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## giannid

You should use the subjunctive after _Il est possible que..._

It would translate as:
It is possible that a complete smoking ban *may* cause many smokers to give up.


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## Blancheneige

"Il est possible que" (as opposed to "Il est certain que") already introduces doubt in the sentence, which is why you don't need a conditional here. As giannid said, subjonctive perfectly reflects your meaning.


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## sacnils

Hi! Bonjour!

Would "il est très possible que" take the subjunctive or the indicative? 

Thanks in advance.


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## Minimus

It takes the subjunctive :

"il est très possible que je sois absent"

(But the expression "il est très possible que" is not very used in french, you should use "il est fort possible que", or "il y a de fortes chances que...", or just "il est possible que", etc)


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## lrosa

How about in this case? I want to tell someone that it's quite possible I might go to the cinema later:

Il est bien possible que je vais aller au cinéma

or

Il est bien possible que j'aille au cinéma


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## Petite-Belette

I'd say "il est bien possible que j'aille au cinéma"... but I'm not sure now...

May be "il est bien possible que j'irai au cinema" ???


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## tilt

_Futur simple_ could be used (_Il est bien possible que j'irai au cinéma_), but _futur proche _sounds very odd to me, even if no grammatical rule seems to forbid it.
_Je vais aller_ is said for something certain, and is then contradictory with _possible/probable_.


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## lrosa

So _futur simple_ would be the most natural option, do ye think?


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## geostan

For _bien possible que_?  Most natural? I don't know about that. I think I'd still stick to the subjunctive. Certainly the use of _bien_ or _fort_ in front of the adjective moves it up on the certainty notch, but I think I'd still stick to the subjunctive.


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## Petite-Belette

According to the rule, it's _futur simple_. But the most natural remains the subjunctive.

"il est bien possible que j'aille au cinéma"


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## geostan

[...]

It seemed to be that when _possible_ is modified by an intensifying adverb, the use or disuse of the subjunctive is not so clear cut.  I decided to google the various expressions to see what conclusions one might come to, if any, and the results were interesting.

When _très_ or _bien_ were involved, the great majority of examples used the subjunctive. With _fort_, the majority shrank. There may be other factors, but the one inescapable conclusion is that it is never wrong to use the subjunctive regardless of the intensifier, and non native speakers would be well advised to follow this as a general rule.


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## Maître Capello

I think this case is much clearer than _il est probable que_: it is better to use the subjunctive after _il est possible que_—whether or not there is an intensifying adverb—because of the much higher doubt implied with _possible_…

When only a single mood is correct, the presence of an adverb won't change anything; when the two moods are possible (like after _il est probable que_), the adverb *may* change the mood accordingly.

See also the following thread: FR: il se peut que / il est possible que + mode.


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## fantasticfish

Please can you advise if I have used the subjunctive and 'y' correctly
The whole sentence is
  Ce sujet fait partie de notre vie quotidienne mais il est possible que vous n'y ayez jamais pensé
Thank you


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## itka

> [...] mais il est possible que vous n'y ayez jamais pensé


Perfect !


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## nube92

Bonjour,

Utilise-t-il le subjontif dans le context suivant? Je veux découvrir s'il est possible qu'une personne puisse être complètement mauvaise.

Merci d'avance


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## Michelvar

Bonjour, 

Oui, il faut utiliser le subjonctif.


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