Writing and arguing

One phrase in this list carries a rule that English has no way of showing. Il semble que is followed by the subjunctive: il semble que la réunion soit annulée, with soit and not est, because the writer is reporting an impression and standing back from it. Add a single pronoun and the mood changes: il me semble que la réunion est annulée takes the indicative, because me gives the impression an owner, and somebody who owns an impression is answering for it. Two sentences, one small word apart, and the whole degree of the writer’s responsibility for what follows sits in that word. English has one shape for both, « it seems that » and « it seems to me that », and the verb after them never moves. Two neighbours are worth keeping apart while learning this: il paraît que is hearsay, what people say, and takes the indicative; il se peut que is possibility, and takes the subjunctive always. The rule to carry away is that in French an impression with an owner is asserted, and an impression without one is merely entertained.