Breakdown of Sans traitement, le virus est dangereux, voire mortel.
être
to be
sans
without
dangereux
dangerous
le virus
the virus
voire
and even / if not
mortel
deadly
le traitement
the treatment
Questions & Answers about Sans traitement, le virus est dangereux, voire mortel.
What exactly does voire add to this sentence, and could I say et voire instead?
Voire is a conjunction used to introduce a stronger, more extreme term, escalating the severity from dangereux (dangerous) to mortel (deadly). It translates best to 'and even' or 'if not'. You should never write et voire because voire already implies the 'and' part.
Is voire related to the verb voir (to see)?
No, they just sound identical. The verb voir (to see) comes from a Latin word for seeing, while the conjunction voire comes from a Latin word meaning 'truly'. Just remember to add that final 'e' when you want to say 'and even'!
Why is there no article before traitement? Why not say sans le traitement?
When using the preposition sans (without) to speak generally, French normally drops indefinite articles (un/une) and partitive articles (du/de la). You only use a definite article like le after sans if you are referring to a very specific, already-mentioned treatment.
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