Breakdown of Je risque de trouver de la rouille sous le capot.
je
I
sous
under
trouver
to find
de la
some (partitive, feminine)
la rouille
the rust
risquer de
to risk
le capot
the hood
Questions & Answers about Je risque de trouver de la rouille sous le capot.
Why do we need de after risque here?
In French, the verb risquer (to risk) requires the preposition de before a following infinitive verb. While English puts the verbs together directly or with a gerund (risk finding), French requires this specific bridge: risquer de trouver.
There are two words with de in this sentence (de trouver and de la rouille). Are they doing the same job?
No, they have entirely different roles! The first de is the preposition required by risquer to connect to the next verb. The second de is part of the partitive article de la (meaning some), which introduces the noun rouille.
Why use de la rouille instead of just la rouille?
Why does trouver translate to finding ending in -ing, instead of to find?
French does not use -ing verb forms (gerunds) the way English does after another verb. Whenever English uses a gerund as the object of another verb (like I risk finding), French translates it using the infinitive form (trouver), often linked by a required preposition like de.
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