Question 1

Why does this sentence use the plus-que-parfait (avait gagné) after comme si instead of the imparfait?

Accepted Answer

We use comme si + plus-que-parfait for a hypothetical action that supposedly happened before the main action. He strutted (past) as if he had already won (even further in the past). If he were strutting as if he were winning at the exact same time, you would use the imparfait (comme s'il gagnait).

Question 2

Why are ne and pas right next to each other in Pour ne pas paraître?

Accepted Answer

When negating a verb in the infinitive (like paraître), both parts of the negation (ne pas, ne jamais, etc.) stay together and are placed before the infinitive verb. This is a great refresher, as it is different from conjugated verbs where the negation words sandwich the verb.

Question 3

Why is s'est pavané reflexive here?

Accepted Answer

The verb se pavaner (to strut or swagger) is a pronominal verb in French. The reflexive pronoun (se or s' here) doesn't translate directly to English, but it carries the nuance of putting oneself on display. Because it is pronominal, it must form its passé composé with the auxiliary verb être.

Question 4

Why does the sentence use s'il instead of si il?

Accepted Answer

The word si drops its i and takes an apostrophe only when it is directly followed by the pronouns il or ils. Keep in mind that it does not contract before elle or on (for example, you would write comme si elle avait gagné without an apostrophe).

Pour ne pas paraître ridicule, le snob s'est pavané comme s'il avait gagné.

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