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Le juge condamne sévèrement quiconque pénètre dans le périmètre sécurisé.

Le juge condamne sévèrement quiconque pénètre dans le périmètre sécurisé.
The judge severely sentences whoever enters the secure perimeter.
From Lesson 311:The indefinite pronoun (quiconque)·French

Questions & Answers about Le juge condamne sévèrement quiconque pénètre dans le périmètre sécurisé.

How does quiconque function grammatically in this sentence?
Quiconque is unique because it plays two roles at once. Here, it acts as the direct object of the first verb (condamne) and the subject of the second verb (pénètre). It translates to 'anyone who' or 'whoever'.
Could I use n'importe qui instead of quiconque here?
You would need to add qui to make it work: n'importe qui qui pénètre... However, that repetition sounds very clunky in French. Quiconque is much more elegant in this formal context because it already contains the relative pronoun 'who' built into its meaning.
Why do we use pénètre dans instead of just pénètre?
When pénétrer means to physically enter a space or trespass, it is usually followed by the preposition dans. While you could also use entre dans, pénétrer dans sounds more formal and emphasizes breaching a boundary, which fits the legal tone of this sentence.
Why is sévèrement placed right after condamne?
In French, adverbs that modify a conjugated verb are placed immediately after that verb, not before the verb or at the very end of the sentence like they sometimes are in English. Therefore, it must be condamne sévèrement, not sévèrement condamne.

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