Breakdown of Qui a protégé la bulle de crainte de la briser ?
qui
who
avoir
to have
la
her, it (feminine direct object pronoun)
protéger
to protect
de crainte de
for fear of
briser
to shatter
la bulle
the bubble
Questions & Answers about Qui a protégé la bulle de crainte de la briser ?
Why do we use the infinitive briser here instead of the subjunctive?
We use de crainte de followed by an infinitive because the subject performing both actions is the same. The person protecting the bubble (Qui) is the same person who might break it. If the subjects were different, we would need to use de crainte que followed by the subjunctive.
Why isn't there a negative word like ne pas before briser, since the purpose is "so as not to shatter it"?
The expression de crainte de already contains the negative idea of avoiding an outcome. Because it translates to "for fear of," the negative meaning is built right in, and you don't need to add ne pas to the infinitive.
Could I use de peur de instead of de crainte de in this sentence?
Yes, de peur de and de crainte de are completely interchangeable. Both mean "for fear of" or "lest," though de crainte de is often considered just a little bit more formal.
Why is the pronoun la placed right before briser?
In French, object pronouns like la (which refers back to la bulle) are placed immediately before the verb they logically belong to. Because la is the direct object of the infinitive briser (shattering it), it must sit directly in front of that infinitive.
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