Learn French: Le chien marche sans la laisse. - The dog walks without the leash.

Le chien marche sans la laisse.

The dog walks without the leash.

Breakdown of Le chien marche sans la laisse.

Questions & Answers about Le chien marche sans la laisse.

Since this lesson is about imperative pronouns, how would I say "Walk it without the leash!"?

Because "to walk a dog" requires the verb promener (not marcher), you would say Promène-le sans la laisse ! The pronoun -le (it/him) attaches to the end of the affirmative command with a hyphen.

Why does the sentence use marche for "walks" if we have to use promener to say "walk the dog"?

Marcher describes the physical action of moving your feet, which the dog is doing by itself here (Le chien marche). But when you take a pet out for a walk, French uses the verb promener (to take for a stroll).

Could I drop the article and just say "sans laisse"?

Yes, you can! Sans laisse is a very common set phrase that translates well to "off leash" or "without a leash." Using sans la laisse just makes it slightly more specific, as if referring to the dog's usual leash.

Is the final "s" in the word sans pronounced?

Usually, no. It ends with a nasal vowel, roughly sounding like "sahn." However, if the following word started with a vowel, you would hear a "z" sound linking the two words (called a liaison), though that doesn't happen here before the consonant in la.