Breakdown of Tu ne dois pas arrêter de démonter le moteur.
tu
you (informal singular)
ne
not (used before the verb)
pas
not (used after the verb)
devoir
to have to / must
arrêter de
to stop (doing something)
le moteur
the engine
démonter
to dismantle
Questions & Answers about Tu ne dois pas arrêter de démonter le moteur.
Why is there a de between arrêter and démonter?
In French, certain verbs require a specific preposition before another verb. The verb arrêter (to stop) always requires the preposition de when it is followed by an infinitive. To say 'to stop doing something', you must use the pattern arrêter de followed by the action.
Why is there no preposition between dois and arrêter?
Modal verbs like devoir (must, to have to), pouvoir (can), and vouloir (to want) are exceptions to the preposition rule. They link directly to the following infinitive without needing de or à. That is why we say Tu dois arrêter directly, but arrêter de démonter.
The English translation uses the '-ing' word 'dismantling'. Why does French use the infinitive démonter here?
While English often uses an '-ing' word after verbs like 'stop', French relies on the infinitive form of the verb after prepositions like de. In French, you do not use the '-ant' equivalent (the present participle) for this grammar structure.
Why does the negation ne pas wrap around dois instead of the other verbs?
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