Questions & Answers about Paul veut respecter la règle.
In French, when one verb directly follows another and the first one is like vouloir (to want), the second verb is usually in the infinitive form.
- Paul veut respecter la règle.
→ veut = conjugated (3rd person singular of vouloir)
→ respecter = infinitive (the “dictionary form”: to respect)
If you used respecte, you’d be conjugating two verbs in a row, which is not grammatical here:
- ❌ Paul veut respecte la règle.
So: [conjugated verb] + [infinitive] is the pattern:
- Je veux manger. – I want to eat.
- Nous voulons partir. – We want to leave.
In French, the infinitive form of the verb already corresponds to “to + verb” in English.
- respecter ≈ “to respect”
- manger ≈ “to eat”
- parler ≈ “to speak”
So Paul veut respecter la règle literally structures as:
- Paul wants [to-respect] the rule.
You don’t add another word to mean “to”. The infinitive ending -er (or -ir, -re, etc.) is what marks it as “to do X”.
La is the definite article (“the”), while une is the indefinite article (“a”).
Paul veut respecter la règle.
→ Suggests a specific rule that is known from context (the rule: maybe a particular classroom rule, a company rule, etc.).Paul veut respecter une règle.
→ Would mean “Paul wants to respect a rule (some rule)”, which is unusual in isolation and sounds vague or incomplete.
In most real contexts, we refer to a particular, known rule, so la règle is the natural choice.
Règle is feminine, so it uses la (singular) and les (plural):
- la règle – the rule
- une règle – a rule
- les règles – the rules
There is no fully reliable general rule that tells you the gender just from the ending -e; some -e nouns are masculine, some feminine. For règle, you simply have to learn it as feminine vocab: une règle, la règle.
Yes, règle has several meanings depending on context:
A rule / regulation
- Cette règle est importante. – This rule is important.
A ruler (the tool you draw straight lines with)
- Passe‑moi la règle, s’il te plaît. – Pass me the ruler, please.
“Period” / menstruation (usually plural: les règles)
- Elle a ses règles. – She has her period.
In Paul veut respecter la règle, the context and the verb respecter clearly point to the meaning “rule”.
In this context, respecter la règle is best understood as “to follow / to obey the rule”.
respecter can mean:
- to respect (as in showing respect):
Je respecte mes parents. – I respect my parents. - to comply with / to obey / to abide by:
respecter la loi, respecter les consignes – to respect the law, follow the instructions.
So Paul veut respecter la règle naturally implies “Paul wants to follow/obey the rule.”
All are connected but there are nuances:
respecter la règle
Most common, neutral: to respect/obey the rule, to not break it.suivre la règle
Literally “to follow the rule” – you act according to the rule, follow its steps or instructions. Less common with règle than with consignes / instructions, but possible.obéir à la règle
Literally “to obey the rule”. Grammatically different: obéir needs à:
obéir à quelqu’un / à quelque chose.
In many cases, respecter la règle is the most idiomatic choice.
Veut is pronounced /vø/, roughly like “vuh” with rounded lips. Key points:
- The letters eu here give a single vowel sound /ø/.
- The final t is silent in normal speech in this position.
- There is no liaison after veut in veut respecter (you don’t pronounce any linking t).
So: Paul veut respecter → /pɔl vø ʁɛspɛkte/.
Respecter is pronounced approximately /ʁɛspɛkte/:
- re‑ → /ʁɛ/ (guttural French r
- open eh sound)
- -spec- → /spɛk/ → in practice often [spɛk] or [spɛkt] depending on accent, but t is really part of the next syllable
- -ter → /te/ (the -er infinitive ending is pronounced /e/)
So it sounds like something close to “res‑pek‑tay”, with a French r at the start and a closed ay sound at the end.
A careful, standard pronunciation:
- Paul veut respecter la règle.
→ /pɔl vø ʁɛspɛkte la ʁɛɡl(ə)/
Notes:
- Paul → /pɔl/ (similar to “Pole” but with a more open o).
- veut → /vø/ (rounded front vowel).
- respecter → /ʁɛspɛkte/ (see previous answer).
- la règle → /la ʁɛɡl(ə)/. The final -e is often very reduced or not pronounced at all in casual speech, so you may hear /ʁɛɡl/.
Veut is the 3rd person singular present of vouloir (to want):
Present tense of vouloir:
- je veux – I want
- tu veux – you want (singular, informal)
- il / elle / on veut – he / she / one wants
- nous voulons – we want
- vous voulez – you want (plural or formal)
- ils / elles veulent – they want
So:
- Paul veut respecter la règle. – Paul = il → veut.
No. That word order is not natural in French.
In French, the normal order is:
- Subject
- Conjugated verb
- Infinitive (if there is one)
- Objects/complements
So:
- ✅ Paul veut respecter la règle.
- ❌ Paul veut la règle respecter. (feels wrong / ungrammatical in standard French)
The infinitive respecter must stay directly after veut.
Use ne … pas around the conjugated verb (here, veut):
- Paul ne veut pas respecter la règle.
→ “Paul does not want to respect the rule.”
Structure:
- Subject: Paul
- ne
- conjugated verb: ne veut
- pas
- infinitive: respecter
- object: la règle
Just put règle in the plural and use the plural article les:
- Paul veut respecter les règles.
→ “Paul wants to respect the rules.”
Forms:
- singular: la règle
- plural: les règles
Use the conditional of vouloir: voudrait.
- Paul voudrait respecter la règle.
→ “Paul would like to respect the rule.”
Nuance:
- Paul veut… = “Paul wants…” (more direct).
- Paul voudrait… = “Paul would like…” (softer, more polite or tentative).