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Nous ne croyons pas que le robot autonome veuille dépasser l'homme.

Nous ne croyons pas que le robot autonome veuille dépasser l'homme.
We do not believe that the autonomous robot wants to surpass mankind.
From Lesson 201:Opinion and belief verbs (penser que, croire que)·French

Questions & Answers about Nous ne croyons pas que le robot autonome veuille dépasser l'homme.

Why is veuille used here instead of the regular indicative veut?
The verb croire (to believe) is a verb of opinion. In the affirmative, it takes the indicative because it expresses certainty in the speaker's mind. But when it is negative (nous ne croyons pas que), it expresses doubt or uncertainty, which triggers the subjunctive mood. That is why we use the subjunctive form veuille.
What verb is veuille and is its conjugation regular?
Veuille is the subjunctive form of vouloir (to want). It is highly irregular. For the singular pronouns and ils/elles, it uses the stem veuill- (like qu'il veuille). However, for nous and vous, it switches to the stem voul- (like que nous voulions).
Why is there an l' before homme when the English translation just says "mankind" without an article?
In French, general categories and broad concepts always require a definite article (le, la, les, or l'). While English drops the article to talk about mankind or humanity in general, French requires l'homme.
Can dépasser be used in other contexts besides "surpass"?
Yes, dépasser literally means to pass or go beyond. You will often see it used for physical actions, like overtaking another car on the highway, as well as figuratively for exceeding a limit or surpassing expectations.

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