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Le patron l'a viré sans rien dire.

Le patron l'a viré sans rien dire.
The boss fired him without saying anything.
From Lesson 244:Jobs, school and sport·French

Questions & Answers about Le patron l'a viré sans rien dire.

Why is it sans rien dire instead of sans dire rien?
In French, when you use an infinitive verb (like dire) with a negative word like rien (nothing/anything) or pas, the negative word goes before the infinitive. So "without saying anything" translates to sans rien dire.
Is virer the standard word for "to fire"?
Virer is very commonly used in spoken French, but it is informal (similar to "to sack" or "to boot" in English). In a formal or professional context, you would use licencier or renvoyer to say "to fire".
How do we know l' means "him" and not "her" in l'a viré?
We can tell it means "him" because of the spelling of the past participle viré. When a direct object pronoun like l' comes before the verb in the passé composé, the past participle must agree with it. If the boss had fired "her", it would be spelled l'a virée with an extra "e".
Does patron mean "patron" (as in a customer)?
No, this is a classic false friend! In French, un patron means a boss, manager, or owner of a business. If you want to talk about a "patron" in the sense of a customer or client, you use the word un client.

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