Breakdown of L'un d'entre eux tient un poignard sous ma gorge.
un
a / an (masculine)
sous
under
eux
them (masculine/mixed)
de
of / from / any (in negative sentences) / about (concerning)
Questions & Answers about L'un d'entre eux tient un poignard sous ma gorge.
Why do we say d'entre eux here instead of just d'eux to mean "of them"?
Why is there an L' before un at the beginning of the sentence?
The L' in L'un is euphonic, meaning it is added simply to make the phrase sound smoother and more elegant. It does not change the meaning at all. You will frequently see l'un instead of un at the start of a sentence or after certain vowel sounds, but Un d'entre eux would also be completely grammatically correct.
The English translation says "to my throat", but doesn't sous mean "under"?
Yes, sous literally translates to "under". French pictures this specific action slightly differently than English does: the dagger is placed right under the chin or jawline. Because of this visual, the natural French phrasing is to hold a weapon sous la gorge (under the throat) rather than using a preposition like à (to).
I learned that French uses definite articles (like la) for body parts. Why does this sentence use ma gorge?