Breakdown of Nous prenons de grandes précautions avant que le virus ne se propage.
nous
we / us (object pronoun)
des
some (plural indefinite)
prendre
to have (a meal/drink) / to take
le
him, it (masculine direct object pronoun)
le virus
the virus
avant que
before (conjunction)
grand
great / eminent
ne
expletive 'ne' (no negative meaning)
la précaution
the precaution
se propager
to spread (disease/fire)
Questions & Answers about Nous prenons de grandes précautions avant que le virus ne se propage.
Why is there a ne before se propage? Does it mean the virus won't spread?
This is the ne explétif. It doesn't make the sentence negative. It is an optional, stylistic word often used in formal French after certain conjunctions like avant que (before), à moins que (unless), and de peur que (for fear that). The sentence just means "before the virus spreads," not "before it doesn't spread."
Is se propage in the subjunctive mood here? It looks like the regular present tense.
Yes, it is the subjunctive! The conjunction avant que always requires the subjunctive. Because se propager is a regular -er verb, its subjunctive form for the third-person singular (qu'il se propage) looks exactly the same as the present indicative (il se propage).
Why is it de grandes précautions instead of des grandes précautions?
In French, when a plural adjective (grandes) comes directly before a plural noun (précautions), the plural indefinite article des changes to de. In informal spoken French you might hear des, but de is grammatically correct and expected at this level.
Why do we use the reflexive se propage instead of just propage?
The non-reflexive verb propager means "to spread [something]," like when a person spreads a rumor or a message. When the subject itself is spreading on its own (like a virus, a fire, or an idea), you must use the reflexive form se propager (literally "to spread itself").
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