Breakdown of Pour gagner aux échecs, tu dois anticiper soit l'attaque soit la défense.
tu
you (informal singular)
pour
for
aux
to the, at the (plural) / with (flavoured with, in dish names) / with (having as a feature)
gagner
to earn / to win
devoir
to have to / must
la défense
the defense
l'attaque
the attack (f)
les échecs
the chess
anticiper
to anticipate
soit... soit...
either... or...
Questions & Answers about Pour gagner aux échecs, tu dois anticiper soit l'attaque soit la défense.
How exactly does the soit... soit... structure work in this sentence?
Wait, isn't soit the subjunctive form of the verb être?
Yes, it shares the exact same spelling! The conjunction soit... soit... actually developed from the subjunctive of être (literally meaning "let it be... let it be..."). However, in modern French, it functions purely as a fixed conjunction, so you don't need to worry about subjunctive verb rules when using it to mean "either... or...".
Why is it aux échecs instead of dans les échecs or just les échecs?
To say "to win at a game" or "to win a game", French uses the verb gagner followed by the preposition à. Because the word for chess is always plural in French (les échecs), the preposition à and the definite article les must combine to form the contraction aux.
Why does the sentence start with Pour gagner instead of just Gagner?
When an infinitive verb at the start of a sentence means "In order to [do something]" or expresses a goal, French requires the preposition pour before it. Starting with just Gagner here would sound confusing, roughly like saying "Winning at chess, you must anticipate..." in English.
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