Breakdown of Je couvre ce rebord pointu de crainte que l'enfant ne se blesse.
je
I
l'enfant
the child
ce
this (before a noun)
couvrir
to cover
se blesser
to hurt oneself
de crainte que
for fear that
le rebord
the edge
pointu
sharp
ne
expletive particle (no negative meaning, e.g. after "for fear that")
Questions & Answers about Je couvre ce rebord pointu de crainte que l'enfant ne se blesse.
Why is there a ne before se blesse if the sentence isn't negative?
This is known as the ne explétif (expletive ne). It does not make the sentence negative. It is used formally after certain expressions of fear, warning, or prevention, like de crainte que or avant que. You do not translate it into English, and in everyday spoken French, it is often dropped entirely.
Is blesse in the indicative or the subjunctive here, since the conjugations look the same?
It is the subjunctive! The conjunction de crainte que always requires the subjunctive mood because it expresses an emotion and a hypothetical situation. For regular -er verbs like se blesser, the present indicative and present subjunctive happen to be identical for the il, elle, and on forms.
Can I use de peur que instead of de crainte que in this sentence?
Yes, absolutely. De peur que and de crainte que mean exactly the same thing. De crainte que is just slightly more formal or literary, but both require the subjunctive and often trigger the extra ne.
What is the difference between bord and rebord?
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