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Ne t'aventure pas dans cette grotte, à moins d'être très expérimenté.

Ne t'aventure pas dans cette grotte, à moins d'être très expérimenté.
Do not venture into this cave, unless you are very experienced.
From Lesson 385:Negative conditions (à moins de)·French

Questions & Answers about Ne t'aventure pas dans cette grotte, à moins d'être très expérimenté.

Why do we use the infinitive à moins d'être instead of the subjunctive à moins que tu sois?
Because the subject is the same in both parts of the sentence! The command Ne t'aventure pas is directed at tu. When the subject doesn't change, French strongly prefers using à moins de + infinitive over à moins que + subjunctive. It's more concise and natural.
Why is it Ne t'aventure pas and not Ne t'aventures pas?
In the imperative (command) form, regular -er verbs drop the final -s for the tu conjugation. Since the verb is s'aventurer, the correct spelling is aventure without the -s.
If I am saying this to a woman, does the word expérimenté change?
Yes, it does. Even though it follows the infinitive être, the adjective must still agree with the implied subject (the person you are talking to). If you are speaking to a female caver, you would write expérimentée.
Can I use sauf si ("except if") instead of à moins de to mean "unless" here?
Yes, but the grammatical structure would change. Sauf si cannot be followed by an infinitive. You would have to conjugate the verb and say: sauf si tu es très expérimenté. Using à moins de allows you to use the infinitive structure, which is very common in written and slightly formal spoken French.

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