Breakdown of Pourquoi est-ce qu'il ne veut pas obéir ?
il
he
ne
not (used before the verb)
pas
not (used after the verb)
est-ce que
is it that / do / does (question marker)
pourquoi
why
vouloir
to want
obéir
to obey
Questions & Answers about Pourquoi est-ce qu'il ne veut pas obéir ?
Why do we use est-ce que after pourquoi?
Why is it qu'il instead of que il?
Why isn't the verb obéir conjugated?
When you have two verbs together where one depends on the other, the first one is conjugated (veut) and the second one stays in its dictionary form, or infinitive (obéir). This is exactly like English: "he wants to obey".
Why do ne and pas go around veut instead of obéir?
In a standard sentence, the negation (ne ... pas) wraps around the conjugated verb. Here, veut is the conjugated verb, so it becomes ne veut pas. The infinitive verb (obéir) stays outside the negation sandwich!
Learn Pourquoi est-ce qu'il ne veut pas obéir and more in French
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free