Breakdown of Ne cours pas trop vite, tu risques d’oublier où tu vas.
tu
you
ne ... pas
not
aller
to go
de
of
courir
to run
oublier
to forget
trop
too
vite
fast
où
where
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Questions & Answers about Ne cours pas trop vite, tu risques d’oublier où tu vas.
Why is it cours and not something like coures or courez after Ne in Ne cours pas?
In French, the imperative form of courir for the second person singular (tu) is cours, which happens to look exactly like the indicative form. The endings don't change as they might in English, so Ne cours pas is the correct way to give the negative command: “Don’t run.”
Why do we use Ne and pas for the negative command rather than just one negative word?
French commonly uses a two-part negation: ne … pas. In commands, as with statements, you surround the verb with ne in front and pas after it. That’s why you get Ne cours pas (“Don’t run”).
What does tu risques d’oublier literally translate to, and why is there a d’ there instead of de?
Literally, tu risques d’oublier means “you risk forgetting.” The d’ is a contracted form of de that appears because oublier starts with a vowel (o). So de + oublier becomes d’oublier.
Why do we say où tu vas instead of something like où vas-tu?
In the sentence Ne cours pas trop vite, tu risques d’oublier où tu vas, the clause où tu vas is an indirect interrogative clause (essentially, “where you’re going”). It’s not a direct question addressed to the listener, so it uses standard subject-verb order in French, just as you’d say “where you go” in English rather than “where do you go.”
How do I know when to use trop versus très when describing speed or intensity?
In French, trop suggests “too much,” indicating that the speed is excessive. Très just means “very.” So Ne cours pas trop vite implies “Don’t run too fast,” warning that the speed is overly high, whereas Ne cours pas très vite would just say “Don’t run very fast.”