Question 1

Why does rien come before perdre instead of after it?

Accepted Answer

When you have a conjugated verb followed by an infinitive (like voulons + perdre), short negative words like rien (nothing/anything) and tout (everything) are placed between the two verbs. Note that longer negative words like personne (nobody) go after the infinitive: nous ne voulons perdre personne.

Question 2

Since this lesson covers quoi que (whatever), could we use it here instead of rien to mean "anything at all"?

Accepted Answer

Yes, you could use the fixed phrase quoi que ce soit (which translates to "anything at all" or "whatever it may be") for emphasis. However, the word order changes. Because it is a longer phrase, it goes after the infinitive: nous ne voulons perdre quoi que ce soit.

Question 3

Quick refresher: why is it leur fidélité and not leurs?

Accepted Answer

Leur is a possessive adjective meaning "their", and it must agree with the noun it modifies. Even though "their" refers to multiple people, the noun fidélité (loyalty) is singular, so it takes the singular leur. You would only use leurs if the noun itself were plural (e.g., leurs enfants).

Question 4

In everyday speech, would a French person phrase the second half of this sentence differently?

Accepted Answer

In casual, spoken French, it is very common to drop the ne from negative structures. You will often hear native speakers simply say nous voulons rien perdre.

Leur fidélité est importante, donc nous ne voulons rien perdre.

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