Breakdown of Je trempe le pinceau sans hâte.
je
I
sans
without
le
him, it (masculine direct object pronoun)
le pinceau
the paintbrush
tremper
to dip
la hâte
the haste
Questions & Answers about Je trempe le pinceau sans hâte.
Why is there no article before hâte here? Shouldn't it be sans la hâte?
In French, when you use a preposition of manner like sans, avec, or par followed by an abstract noun like hâte, you drop the article. Adding an article here would sound unnatural because you're describing how you do the action, effectively turning the phrase into an adverb.
Is there a spoken liaison between sans and hâte?
No, you do not pronounce the s from sans when saying this phrase. The word hâte starts with an aspirated h (h aspiré). Even though the h itself is silent, it acts like a wall that blocks both liaisons and elisions from the preceding word.
Does tremper always mean to dip? I thought it meant to soak.
It means both, depending on the context! When you submerge something briefly, like a brush in paint or a croissant in coffee, it means to dip. If you leave it in the liquid for a longer time, like dishes in the sink, or if you are drenched in the rain (être trempé), it means to soak.
What is the difference in nuance between sans hâte and just saying lentement?
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