Je veux vaincre mon stress.

I want to overcome my stress.

Breakdown of Je veux vaincre mon stress.

• je: I
• mon: my
• vouloir: to want
• le stress: the stress
• vaincre: to overcome

Questions & Answers about Je veux vaincre mon stress.

What does vaincre mean in this sentence?

Vaincre means “to defeat” or “to overcome.” In the sentence Je veux vaincre mon stress, it expresses the speaker’s wish to completely overcome or defeat their stress.

Why is vaincre used in its infinitive form instead of being conjugated?

In French, when a conjugated verb like veux (from vouloir) is followed by another verb, that verb remains in its infinitive form. Thus, after Je veux (“I want”), the verb vaincre stays in the infinitive, just as in English we say “I want to defeat…” without conjugating “defeat.”

Can you break down the structure of the sentence Je veux vaincre mon stress?

Certainly. The sentence is structured as follows: • Je is the subject pronoun meaning “I.” • veux is the first-person singular present tense form of vouloir (“to want”). • vaincre is the infinitive verb that follows veux. • mon stress is the direct object, with mon being the masculine singular possessive adjective modifying stress.

Why is the possessive mon used with stress rather than ma or another form?

Stress is a masculine noun in French. Possessive adjectives must agree in gender and number with the noun they modify, so mon (masculine singular) is used instead of ma (which would be for feminine singular).

Is there any difference between using vaincre and another verb like surmonter when talking about stress?

Yes, there is a subtle nuance. Both vaincre and surmonter can translate to “overcome,” but vaincre literally means “to defeat” and often conveys the idea of conquering an opponent or challenge. Surmonter tends to emphasize getting over or managing a difficulty. In Je veux vaincre mon stress, the speaker expresses a desire to completely defeat or conquer their stress.