Breakdown of Je lui demande de ne pas nettoyer le terrarium, pour ne pas casser la vitre.
je
I
pour
for
lui
him / to him / to her (indirect object)
ne
not (used before the verb)
pas
not (used after the verb)
nettoyer
to clean
casser
to break
demander
to ask (for) / to require / demand
de
to (introducing an infinitive after a verb)
la vitre
the glass pane
le terrarium
the terrarium
Questions & Answers about Je lui demande de ne pas nettoyer le terrarium, pour ne pas casser la vitre.
Why are ne and pas right next to each other before nettoyer and casser?
Normally, ne and pas act like a sandwich around a conjugated verb (like je ne nettoie pas). But when you make an infinitive (an unconjugated verb) negative, ne and pas stay together directly in front of it. That is why we see ne pas nettoyer (not to clean) and ne pas casser (not to break).
Why is there a de before ne pas nettoyer?
The verb demander (to ask) requires the preposition de when you ask someone to do an action. The full pattern is demander à quelqu'un de faire quelque chose (to ask someone to do something).
Could lui mean 'her' instead of 'him' in this sentence?
Absolutely. The indirect object pronoun lui translates to both 'to him' and 'to her'. Unless we have more context from a previous sentence, Je lui demande can mean either 'I ask him' or 'I ask her'.
How does pour translate to 'so as to' here?
When you put pour right before an infinitive verb, it expresses purpose or intention, meaning 'in order to' or 'so as to'. In this sentence, pour ne pas casser translates to 'in order not to break' or 'so as not to break'.
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