Breakdown of Nous devons empêcher que le tireur n'utilise son fusil.
nous
we / us (object pronoun)
son
his/her/its (son, sa, ses)
utiliser
to use
devoir
to have to / must
que
that (introducing a clause)
ne
expletive 'ne' (no negative meaning)
empêcher
to prevent
le tireur
the shooter
le fusil
the rifle
Questions & Answers about Nous devons empêcher que le tireur n'utilise son fusil.
Why is there a n' before utilise if the English translation doesn't say "not"?
This is the ne explétif (expletive ne). It is often used in formal or careful French after verbs of preventing, avoiding, or fearing (like empêcher que). It doesn't make the sentence negative—it just emphasizes that you are trying to stop the action from happening. If you wanted a true negative ("prevent him from not using"), you would need a full ne ... pas.
Is utilise in the subjunctive mood here?
Yes! Verbs of prevention like empêcher que express a will or desire to stop an action, which triggers the subjunctive. Because utiliser is a regular -er verb, its present subjunctive form looks identical to the present indicative for the third-person singular (qu'il utilise).
Why does French use que (prevent that the shooter uses) instead of a preposition like English does?
Could I use an infinitive instead to mirror the English structure more closely?
Yes, you can! You could rewrite this as Nous devons empêcher le tireur d'utiliser son fusil. This uses the structure empêcher [quelqu'un] de [faire quelque chose] and is completely natural. However, when you choose the empêcher que structure shown in this lesson, you must use the subjunctive and will often see the ne explétif.
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