Breakdown of L'architecte aurait osé le poursuivre.
avoir
to have
le
him, it (masculine direct object pronoun)
poursuivre
to pursue
l'architecte
the architect (m/f)
oser
to dare
Questions & Answers about L'architecte aurait osé le poursuivre.
How is the past conditional formed in aurait osé?
The past conditional (would have done something) is formed using the present conditional of the auxiliary verb (either avoir or être) plus the past participle of the main verb. Here, the auxiliary is avoir, so its conditional form is aurait, and the past participle of oser is osé.
Why does le come right before poursuivre instead of earlier in the sentence?
In French, object pronouns like le go immediately before the specific verb they belong to. Since the architect is pursuing 'it' (not daring 'it'), le must go right before the infinitive poursuivre, rather than in front of the conjugated verb aurait.
Why is there no preposition between osé and poursuivre?
The verb oser (to dare) is one of the French verbs that is followed directly by an infinitive without needing a linking preposition like à or de. You just put the two verbs together.
Could poursuivre have a legal meaning here?
Yes! While it translates to 'to pursue' or 'to chase', in a professional or business context like this one with an architect, poursuivre (or poursuivre en justice) very often means 'to sue' or 'to take legal action against'.
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