Breakdown of Il infiltre le quartier général sans que le gardien le remarque.
il
he
le
him, it (masculine direct object pronoun)
remarquer
to notice
infiltrer
to infiltrate
le quartier général
the headquarters
sans que
without (conjunction)
le gardien
the guard
Questions & Answers about Il infiltre le quartier général sans que le gardien le remarque.
I know sans que requires the subjunctive, but remarque just looks like the normal present tense. Is it subjunctive?
Yes, it is! For regular -er verbs like remarquer, the subjunctive forms for je, tu, il/elle/on, and ils/elles look exactly the same as the present indicative. It is grammatically in the subjunctive here because it follows sans que.
Why can't we just say sans le gardien remarquant for 'without the guard noticing'?
French doesn't use a present participle (an '-ing' word) after sans when a new person is doing the action. Because the subject changes from the infiltrator (il) to the guard (le gardien), you are required to use the conjunction sans que followed by a conjugated verb.
Why is the second le placed before remarque?
This le is a direct object pronoun meaning 'him'. In French, object pronouns usually go immediately before the conjugated verb they belong to, even when they are part of a dependent clause like this one.
The English translation says 'the headquarters', which sounds plural. Why does French use the singular le quartier général?
Learn Il infiltre le quartier général sans que le gardien le remarque 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