Learn French: La pression est trop forte en mathématiques pour bien dormir. - The pressure is too strong in mathematics to sleep well.

La pression est trop forte en mathématiques pour bien dormir.

The pressure is too strong in mathematics to sleep well.

Breakdown of La pression est trop forte en mathématiques pour bien dormir.

Questions & Answers about La pression est trop forte en mathématiques pour bien dormir.

How does the "too... to..." structure work in this sentence?

This is the focus of the current lesson! To say something is "too [adjective] to [do something]", French uses trop + adjective (forte) + pour + infinitive verb (dormir). It shows that the high degree of pressure has a direct consequence: making it hard to sleep.

Why is the adverb placed before the verb in bien dormir?

In French, short and common adverbs like bien, mal, or trop are typically placed directly before a verb in its infinitive form. So, you must say pour bien dormir rather than pour dormir bien.

Why do we use en for "in mathematics" instead of dans les?

When talking about a field of study, an academic subject, or a professional domain in a general way, French uses the preposition en with no article. That is why it is en mathématiques rather than dans les mathématiques.

The subject of the sentence is "the pressure", so who is doing the sleeping?

Normally, you use pour + infinitive when the subject of both verbs is the exact same person or thing. However, French also allows this structure for general statements. Here, the consequence of not being able to sleep well applies to people in general (like the students) who are facing that pressure.