Question 1

Why is the verb form voie used here instead of the regular present tense voit?

Accepted Answer

The conjunction sans que (without) expresses that an action is avoided or doesn't happen, which creates a sense of unreality. Because of this, it must always be followed by the subjunctive mood. voie is the subjunctive form of voir (to see) for il/elle.

Question 2

Could I just say sans le gardien le voir without using que?

Accepted Answer

No, because there are two different subjects in this sentence: the spy (l'espion) and the guard (le gardien). When the subject changes for the second action, you must use sans que followed by a conjugated verb. You only use sans + infinitive when the same person performs both actions.

Question 3

What does the second le in le voie mean, and why is it placed there?

Accepted Answer

That le is a direct object pronoun meaning "him", referring back to the spy (l'espion). In French, object pronouns always go directly before the verb they belong to, even in a dependent clause using the subjunctive.

Question 4

I learned that voler means "to fly". Why is it translated as "steals" here?

Accepted Answer

The verb voler has two very common meanings: "to fly" and "to steal". You can easily tell them apart by the context. Since a spy is taking a document, "stealing" is the only meaning that makes sense here!

L'espion discret vole le document sans que le gardien le voie.

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