Ne mets pas un poignard sous sa gorge pour un lingot !
Don't put a dagger to his throat for an ingot!
Breakdown of Ne mets pas un poignard sous sa gorge pour un lingot !
un
a / an (masculine)
sous
under
pour
for
ne
not (used before the verb)
Questions & Answers about Ne mets pas un poignard sous sa gorge pour un lingot !
Why does French use sous (under) instead of a literal translation for "to" his throat?
We usually use definite articles for body parts in French (like la gorge). Why is it sa gorge here?
You're right that French usually prefers the definite article for body parts, but that requires the possessor to be established by an indirect object pronoun (like lui). A very common alternative for this sentence would be Ne lui mets pas un poignard sous la gorge. Because there is no lui in this specific sentence to show whose throat it is, the possessive adjective sa is required so we know who is being threatened.
Why does the negative sentence use un poignard instead of changing it to de poignard?
Normally, indefinite articles (un, une, des) change to de after a negation to mean "not any." However, keeping un here emphasizes the singular noun as a concrete object rather than an absolute zero quantity. Saying de poignard would mean "Don't put any dagger," which sounds a bit strange in this dramatic idiom.
Why does the imperative verb mets end in an "s"? Don't we drop the "s" in the tu command form?