Breakdown of L'apprenti observe le souffleur de peur de rater le geste.
le
him, it (masculine direct object pronoun)
observer
to observe
le geste
the gesture
rater
to miss / to botch / ruin / to fail / go wrong
l'apprenti
the apprentice (m)
le souffleur
the glassblower
de peur de
for fear of
Questions & Answers about L'apprenti observe le souffleur de peur de rater le geste.
Why do we use the infinitive rater after de peur de instead of a conjugated verb?
We use the infinitive because the subject is the same for both actions. It is the apprentice who is observing, and the apprentice who fears missing the gesture. If the subjects were different, you would use de peur que followed by the subjunctive.
Could I use de crainte de in this sentence instead?
The translation says "glassblower", but isn't a souffleur just someone who blows?
Does rater le geste mean failing to see the movement, or failing to perform it later?
It could be either, which makes rater a great word here! Rater is very common for both "to miss" an event or a target (like failing to see it) and "to fail" or botch a task, recipe, or physical action.
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