Question 1

Why do we use sans que here instead of just sans?

Accepted Answer

We use sans que because there are two different subjects in the sentence. The first subject is le voleur (the thief), and the second is le gardien (the guard). If the same person was doing both actions (for example, 'The thief takes the money without triggering the alarm'), you would just use sans followed by the infinitive: sans déclencher.

Question 2

The lesson says sans que requires the subjunctive, but déclenche looks exactly like the normal present tense. Is it really in the subjunctive?

Accepted Answer

Yes, it is! For regular -er verbs like déclencher, the present subjunctive forms for je, tu, il/elle/on, and ils/elles are spelled exactly the same as the present indicative (the normal present tense). Even though it looks identical, it is grammatically in the subjunctive mood because it follows sans que.

Question 3

Why is it prend l'argent instead of prend de l'argent?

Accepted Answer

Using the definite article l' means the thief is taking specific money, like the cash known to be stored in a safe. If the sentence used the partitive article de l' (prend de l'argent), it would mean the thief is just taking an unspecified amount of money ('some money').

Question 4

What kind of verb is déclencher and when do we use it?

Accepted Answer

Déclencher is a regular -er verb that means to trigger, set off, or activate. It is most commonly used with things that have mechanisms or sensors, like déclencher une alarme (to trigger an alarm). It can also be used figuratively, like triggering a strike, an argument, or a memory.

Le voleur prend l'argent sans que le gardien déclenche l'alarme.

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