Démarre la voiture avant de partir.

the car

Breakdown of Démarre la voiture avant de partir.

• avant: before
• de: of
• partir: to leave

Questions & Answers about Démarre la voiture avant de partir.

Why is there no subject pronoun before démarre?

Because in the imperative mood for the second person singular (tu), French omits the subject pronoun. The verb form alone (here démarre) tells the listener it’s a command. Instead of saying tu démarres, you just say démarre.

What’s the difference between démarre and démarrez?

They’re both imperative forms of démarrer (“to start”), but address different audiences.

• démarre = informal singular (“you,” familiar)
• démarrez = formal singular or plural (“you,” polite or multiple people)

Why is the phrase avant de partir used instead of avant partir?

When two actions share the same subject, French requires avant de + infinitive to mean “before doing something.” The preposition de is mandatory. Omitting it (avant partir) is ungrammatical.

Could I use avant que je parte instead of avant de partir?