Breakdown of Nous entrons dans le quartier général sans que l'espion le sache.
nous
we / us (object pronoun)
dans
in, inside
entrer
to enter
le
him, it (masculine direct object pronoun)
Questions & Answers about Nous entrons dans le quartier général sans que l'espion le sache.
Why is sache used here instead of the normal present tense sait?
sache is the subjunctive form of savoir (to know). The conjunction sans que (without) always triggers the subjunctive because it introduces an action that is not happening or is prevented from happening—in this case, the spy finding out.
What does the le do in le sache?
It acts as a direct object pronoun meaning "it." While in English we can naturally say "without the spy knowing," French strongly prefers to specify exactly what isn't known. Here, le refers to the entire action of us entering the headquarters: "without the spy knowing it."
Why do we say entrons dans? Doesn't entrer already mean "to enter"?
It does, but when you enter a physical space in French (like a building, a room, or a headquarters), you almost always need to use the preposition dans (in/into) right after the verb. Think of it literally as "we are going into the headquarters."
The English translation says "headquarters," which ends in an 's'. Why is le quartier général singular?
In English, "headquarters" is a word that looks plural even when talking about a single location. In French, a single command center is strictly singular: le quartier général (often called le QG for short). If you were talking about multiple different bases, it would become plural: les quartiers généraux.