Question 1

Why do we use de before ne pas gâter?

Accepted Answer

This sentence uses an indirect command. In French, when you report that someone asks someone else to do something, you use the structure demander à [quelqu'un] de [faire quelque chose]. Here, the mother is asking the father not to spoil the baby, so we use de to connect the request to the action.

Question 2

Why are ne and pas right next to each other instead of surrounding the verb?

Accepted Answer

When you negate a conjugated verb, ne and pas act like a sandwich around it. However, when you negate an infinitive (an unconjugated verb, like gâter), both ne and pas stay together and are placed directly before the infinitive. Therefore, the phrase becomes de ne pas gâter (not to spoil).

Question 3

Why is it au père and not just le père?

Accepted Answer

The verb demander takes the preposition à when indicating who is being asked, creating the structure demander à quelqu'un. Because père is masculine, you would literally say à le père, but in French, the words à and le must always contract to form the word au.

Question 4

Does the verb gâter also apply to food spoiling?

Accepted Answer

Yes! Much like in English, gâter can mean spoiling a child with too many things, or it can be used for things that go bad or get ruined, such as rotten fruit or a ruined surprise (gâter la surprise).

La mère demande au père de ne pas gâter le bébé.

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