Breakdown of Le mixage coûte cher, alors baissez le volume de peur de saturer.
coûter
to cost
cher
expensive
alors
so, then
baisser
to lower / to go down / to fade (intransitive)
de peur de
for fear of
saturer
to clip
le mixage
the mixing
le volume
the volume
Questions & Answers about Le mixage coûte cher, alors baissez le volume de peur de saturer.
Why do we use the adjective cher here instead of an adverb like chèrement?
In French, certain adjectives are used directly as adverbs with specific verbs. With coûter (to cost), we always use the adjective cher to say something "is expensive" or "costs a lot". When an adjective acts as an adverb like this, it is invariable, meaning it never changes form. Even if the subject were feminine or plural (for example, les machines coûtent cher), cher remains masculine singular.
Why use de peur de + infinitive instead of de peur que?
You use de peur de followed by an infinitive when the subject of the main clause and the dependent clause is the same. Here, the person lowering the volume is the same person who might cause the audio to clip. If the subjects were different, you would need to use de peur que followed by the subjunctive—for example: baissez le volume de peur que l'ampli ne sature (lower the volume for fear that the amp might clip).
Is saturer the standard word for "clipping"?
Could I use donc instead of alors in this sentence?
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