Breakdown of Je vais dans le Périgord afin de goûter la spécialité locale.
je
I
dans
in, inside
aller
to go
goûter
to taste
le
him, it (masculine direct object pronoun)
la
her, it (feminine direct object pronoun)
local
local
afin de
in order to
la spécialité
the specialty
le Périgord
the Perigord
Questions & Answers about Je vais dans le Périgord afin de goûter la spécialité locale.
Why do we use dans le Périgord here instead of au or en?
Périgord is a masculine historical region starting with a consonant. The rule for these masculine provinces is to use dans le (just like dans le Berry). If it were a feminine region, you would use en (like en Normandie). Note that you might occasionally see en Périgord on tourist brochures as a set exception, but dans le is the standard grammatical choice taught at this level.
Why use afin de instead of pour in this sentence?
Both translate to "in order to" and are followed by an infinitive. The difference is simply the register: afin de is slightly more formal and elegant than the everyday pour. It is excellent to use in written French or careful speech.
Is there a reason it is goûter la spécialité and not goûter à la spécialité?
Yes! Using goûter directly with a direct object means to eat or drink something to fully experience its flavor, which is exactly what you do with a local dish. If you add the preposition and say goûter à, it specifically means to just take a tiny sample or a small bite of something.
Why does afin de take the infinitive goûter instead of a conjugated verb?
Because the person going to the region and the person doing the tasting are the same (je). When the subject doesn't change between the two actions, you must use a preposition like afin de or pour plus the infinitive. You would only use afin que with a conjugated subjunctive verb if the subjects were different.
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