Breakdown of Une fois que tu as débranché le détonateur, regarde l'explosif.
tu
you (informal singular)
avoir
to have
regarder
to watch
le
him, it (masculine direct object pronoun)
débrancher
to unplug
une fois que
once
le détonateur
the detonator
l'explosif
the explosive (m)
Questions & Answers about Une fois que tu as débranché le détonateur, regarde l'explosif.
Why use the passé composé (as débranché) here after une fois que instead of the present tense?
The conjunction une fois que (once) sets up a temporal clause of completed anteriority—meaning this action must be completely finished before the main action starts. Using the passé composé (as débranché) instead of the present tense strongly emphasizes that completion: you must be entirely done disconnecting it before you move on to the next step.
Since this is an instruction for the future, shouldn't we use the futur antérieur (future perfect) after une fois que?
You absolutely can! It is very common to use the futur antérieur (like une fois que tu auras débranché) to show an action completed before a future event. However, when the main clause is an imperative command like regarde, everyday spoken French frequently pairs it with the passé composé instead.
Why is it spelled regarde without an "s" at the end?
This is a quick refresher on imperative (command) forms! Even though the normal present tense is tu regardes, regular -er verbs drop that final "s" in the informal command form. It only reappears if the verb is immediately followed by the pronouns y or en to make pronunciation easier.
In English we say "look at the explosive". Why is there no preposition after regarde?
The French verb regarder directly takes its object without needing a preposition. The "at" is already built into the meaning of the verb. Adding a preposition like à here is a very common mistake for English speakers to make, but in French, it's simply regarder quelque chose.
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