Learn Hardcore French: Pour guérir, Marie doit se reposer.

Pour guérir ≈ (in order) to get better / to recover
We usually do not translate it literally as “for to get better”, because that’s not idiomatic English.
So pour here introduces a purpose or goal: the purpose is to get better.

In general:

pour + infinitive → in order to / to + verb
pour + noun → often for + noun (e.g. pour Marie = for Marie)

Why is guérir in the infinitive form, and not conjugated like guérit or guérisse?

After pour expressing a purpose directly with the same subject, French uses the infinitive:

Pour guérir, Marie doit se reposer.
Literally: To get better, Marie has to rest.

Here, the subject of guérir is Marie (the same as the subject of doit), but in French we don’t repeat the subject after pour in this kind of structure; we just use pour + infinitive.

You could also say:

Pour qu’elle guérisse, Marie doit se reposer.

Here:

qu’elle guérisse is a subjunctive clause (with elle as subject).
This sounds slightly more formal or written, and stresses the idea “so that she gets better”.

But the simpler and very common pattern is:

Pour + infinitive when the subject is the same.

Could I say pour Marie guérir like in English “for Marie to get better”?

No. Pour Marie guérir is not correct French.

French does not directly mirror the English structure “for + subject + to + verb”. Instead, you have two main options:

Same subject in both parts → use pour + infinitive:
- Pour guérir, Marie doit se reposer.
- Literally: To get better, Marie must rest.
Different subject or you explicitly want a subject after pour → use pour que + subjunctive:
- Pour que Marie guérisse, elle doit se reposer.
  (a bit redundant, since Marie = elle, but grammatically correct)
- More naturally with two different subjects:
  Marie doit se reposer pour que son fils guérisse.
  → Marie must rest so that her son gets better.

So:

Never pour Marie guérir
Use pour guérir or pour que Marie guérisse, depending on the structure.

Why is there no preposition between doit and se reposer? In English we say “has to rest”, but sometimes French verbs need a de or à before another verb.

The verb devoir (when it means “must / have to”) is followed directly by an infinitive, with no preposition:

Marie doit se reposer. → Marie has to rest.
Je dois partir. → I have to leave.
Nous devons étudier. → We have to study.

Compare with other verbs that do take a preposition before an infinitive:

J’essaie de dormir. (verb + de
- infinitive)
Elle commence à parler. (verb + à
- infinitive)

But:

Je dois dormir. (no preposition)
Tu peux venir. (no preposition after pouvoir)

So devoir + infinitive never takes de or à.

Why is it se reposer and not just reposer?

Se reposer is a reflexive verb meaning “to rest” (to take a rest, to relax).

se reposer = to rest
reposer (without se) usually means something else:
- to put something down / lay something down again
  - Je repose le livre sur la table. → I put the book back on the table.
- In some contexts: to rest (an object) on something
  - La tête repose sur l’oreiller. → The head rests on the pillow.

So when you talk about a person resting, you almost always use the reflexive form:

Marie doit se reposer. → Marie has to rest.
Je dois me reposer. → I have to rest.

How does the reflexive pronoun se work here, and where would it go if we conjugated reposer?

In the infinitive form, the reflexive pronoun attaches to the verb as se:

se reposer → to rest

When you conjugate se reposer, the reflexive pronoun changes to match the subject and goes before the verb:

Je me repose. → I rest / I’m resting.
Tu te reposes.
Il / Elle se repose.
Nous nous reposons.
Vous vous reposez.
Ils / Elles se reposent.

With devoir + infinitive, the reflexive pronoun stays attached to the infinitive:

Marie doit se reposer. (not doit se repose)
Je dois me reposer.
Nous devons nous reposer.

So: pronoun + conjugated verb when it’s conjugated alone, but devoir + pronoun + infinitive when used with devoir.

Can I change the word order and say Marie doit se reposer pour guérir? Does it change the meaning?

Yes, Marie doit se reposer pour guérir is perfectly correct and very natural.

Both versions are standard:

Pour guérir, Marie doit se reposer.
Marie doit se reposer pour guérir.

The meaning is the same: In order to get better, Marie has to rest.

The nuance is mainly one of emphasis:

Pour guérir, Marie doit se reposer.
→ Slightly emphasizes the goal of getting better first.
Marie doit se reposer pour guérir.
→ Starts with Marie and what she must do, and then adds the goal.

In everyday speech, the second word order (starting with Marie) is probably more common, but both are fine.

What tense and meaning does doit have here? Is it like English “must” or “has to”?

Doit is the third person singular, present tense of devoir.

In this context, devoir expresses obligation / necessity, and it is usually translated as:

must:
Marie doit se reposer. → Marie must rest.
or has to:
Marie doit se reposer. → Marie has to rest.

Both are acceptable, depending on the tone you want:

must often sounds a bit stronger or more formal.
has to is very natural and common in everyday English.

Grammatically:

je dois
tu dois
il / elle / on doit
nous devons
vous devez
ils / elles doivent

How do you pronounce Pour guérir, Marie doit se reposer? Are there any important liaisons or silent letters?

Key points of pronunciation:

Pour → roughly “poor” (French ou like English oo in food).
guérir → gay-reer (more precisely [ge.ʁiʁ]):
- gué like “gay” (but shorter).
- Final -r is pronounced in French.
Marie → ma-ree
doit → roughly “dwa”:
- final -t is silent.
se → very short, like “suh”.
reposer → rə-po-zé:
- re- as a neutral “ruh”.
- po like “po” in post.
- -ser pronounced “zé” (because s between vowels sounds like z, and -er at the end is like é).

Liaisons:

There is no compulsory liaison between pour and guérir (you do not link an extra consonant).
You just say: pour | guérir, with a small pause if needed.

Overall rhythm:
Pour guérir, | Marie doit se reposer.
Each word clearly separated, with the main stress at the end of each phrase: guérir and reposer.

Are there alternative natural ways to say this sentence in French?

Yes, several variants are quite natural, with slightly different nuances:

Using il faut:
- Pour guérir, il faut que Marie se repose.
  → More general / impersonal: In order to get better, (it is necessary that) Marie rest.
More direct, without pour guérir at the start:
- Marie doit se reposer si elle veut guérir.
  → Marie has to rest if she wants to get better.
Using the future:
- Pour guérir, Marie devra se reposer.
  → To get better, Marie will have to rest. (focus on future obligation)

The original sentence:

Pour guérir, Marie doit se reposer.
is simple, natural, and very commonly used.