Breakdown of Il est huit heures, essaie de ne pas taper sur la vitre.
être
to be
sur
on
ne
not (used before the verb)
pas
not (used after the verb)
huit
eight
l'heure
the hour / o'clock (f)
il
it (impersonal subject)
essayer
to try
taper
to type
de
to (introducing an infinitive after a verb)
la vitre
the glass pane
Questions & Answers about Il est huit heures, essaie de ne pas taper sur la vitre.
Why are ne and pas right next to each other instead of surrounding the verb?
Usually, ne and pas go on either side of a conjugated verb (like tu ne tapes pas). But when you negate an infinitive (an unconjugated verb like taper), both parts of the negation stay together directly before the verb, giving us ne pas taper.
Where does the de right before ne pas taper come from?
Why doesn't essaie have an "s" at the end? Isn't this addressed to tu?
Yes, it is the tu form! However, when giving commands (the imperative mood), -er verbs drop the final "s" in the tu form. So, the regular conjugation tu essaies becomes the command essaie.
Why use vitre here for "glass" instead of verre?
Vitre specifically refers to a windowpane or a sheet of glass in a door or window. Verre refers to the material "glass" itself or a drinking glass. Since the person is tapping on a windowpane, vitre is the exact right word.
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