Breakdown of Le caméléon change de couleur non pas pour cacher son corps, mais pour montrer son humeur.
mais
but
pour
for
de
of / from / any (in negative sentences) / about (concerning)
cacher
to hide
son
his/her/its (son, sa, ses)
changer
to change
la couleur
the color
montrer
to show
le corps
the body
l'humeur
the mood (f)
non pas
not
le caméléon
the chameleon
Questions & Answers about Le caméléon change de couleur non pas pour cacher son corps, mais pour montrer son humeur.
Why use non pas here instead of just pas?
Using non pas... mais... adds strong emphasis to the contrast. While you could technically just say pas pour cacher... mais pour montrer, adding non makes the correction much stronger, like saying 'not at all to hide... but rather to show'. It clearly signals that a common misconception is being corrected.
Why is pour repeated after mais (mais pour montrer)?
Why is it change de couleur and not change sa couleur?
When talking about switching out a characteristic, an item of clothing, or a vehicle, French uses the structure changer de followed by a bare noun (no article or possessive adjective). Just like 'to change trains' is changer de train, 'to change color' is simply changer de couleur.
Wait, does humeur mean 'humor'?
No, humeur is a classic false friend! It translates to 'mood' or 'temper' (as in être de bonne humeur for 'to be in a good mood'). If you want to talk about comedy or a sense of humor, the French word is actually humour.
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