Paul pense que nous devrions utiliser moins de carburant et marcher autant que possible.

Paul thinks that we should use less fuel and walk as much as possible.

Breakdown of Paul pense que nous devrions utiliser moins de carburant et marcher autant que possible.

• Paul: Paul
• et: and
• nous: we
• de: of
• que: that
• marcher: to walk
• penser: to think
• moins: less
• utiliser: to use
• devoir: should
• le carburant: the fuel
• autant que possible: as much as possible

Questions & Answers about Paul pense que nous devrions utiliser moins de carburant et marcher autant que possible.

What tense is pense in Paul pense que…, and why is it pense and not pensent or pensons?

Pense is in the present tense, 3rd person singular of the verb penser (to think).

• Paul pense = Paul thinks
• We use pense because Paul is il (he) → 3rd person singular.
• Other forms in the present:
  • je pense – I think
  • tu penses – you think (singular, informal)
  • il/elle/on pense – he/she/one thinks
  • nous pensons – we think
  • vous pensez – you think (plural/formal)
  • ils/elles pensent – they think

So pensent would be for ils/elles, and pensons for nous, which do not match the subject Paul.

Why do we need que in Paul pense que nous devrions…? In English we often drop that (“Paul thinks we should…”).

In French, que is usually required in this kind of sentence:

• Paul pense que nous devrions… = Paul thinks that we should…

English can say either:

• Paul thinks that we should…
• Paul thinks we should… (without that)

In French, you cannot drop que here:

• ❌ Paul pense nous devrions… (incorrect)
• ✅ Paul pense que nous devrions…

So after verbs like penser, croire, dire, savoir etc., when they introduce a clause, you normally must use que.

What exactly does nous devrions mean, and how is it different from nous devons?

Both come from the verb devoir, but they don’t mean the same thing:

• nous devons = we must / we have to
  
  • Present tense → obligation, necessity.
• nous devrions = we should
  
  • Conditional tense → advice, recommendation, moral obligation, something desirable but not strictly required.

In this sentence:

• nous devrions utiliser moins de carburant
  → we should use less fuel (it would be better if we did)

If you said:

• nous devons utiliser moins de carburant
  → we must / have to use less fuel (stronger obligation, more like a rule or necessity).

How is devrions formed from devoir? It doesn’t look like the stem dev-.

Devrions is the 1st person plural conditional of devoir.

Pattern for devoir in the conditional:

• je devrais – I should
• tu devrais – you should
• il/elle/on devrait – he/she/one should
• nous devrions – we should
• vous devriez – you should
• ils/elles devraient – they should

Formation:

• stem: devr-
• conditional endings: -ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient

So: devr- + -ions → devrions.

This same stem devr- is also used for the future (je devrai, nous devrons, etc.), but with different endings.

Why is marcher in the infinitive (…et marcher autant que possible) and not nous marchions?

Because marcher is directly linked to nous devrions; it’s the second action we should do.

Structure:

• nous devrions utiliser moins de carburant et marcher autant que possible
  • utiliser and marcher are two infinitives governed by devrions.
  • English does something similar: we should use less fuel and walk as much as possible → use / walk are both non‑conjugated forms attached to should.

If you said nous marchions, you would be switching to a conjugated verb, which would break the parallel structure:

• ❌ Nous devrions utiliser moins de carburant et nous marchions… (ungrammatical in this form)
• ✅ Nous devrions utiliser moins de carburant et marcher autant que possible.

Why is it moins de carburant and not moins du carburant or moins carburant?

With expressions of quantity like moins, French uses the pattern:

moins de + noun (no article in between)

So:

• moins de carburant = less fuel
• moins de sucre = less sugar
• moins de temps = less time

You do not say:

• ❌ moins du carburant (would sound like less of the fuel, and is not used in this general sense)
• ❌ moins carburant (missing the de)

The general rule:

• beaucoup de, peu de, assez de, trop de, moins de, plus de
  • noun
    → no article after de in most basic cases: plus de travail, peu de temps, etc.

What does carburant mean exactly? Could I say essence instead?

Carburant is a general word for fuel, especially fuel used for engines (car fuel, plane fuel, etc.). It’s more general and slightly more technical.

• carburant = fuel (petrol, diesel, aviation fuel, etc., depending on context)
• essence = petrol / gasoline (specifically, what cars usually use)

In your sentence:

• utiliser moins de carburant = use less fuel (in general)

If the context is specifically cars that run on gasoline, you could say:

• utiliser moins d’essence = use less gas / petrol

Both are correct, but carburant is broader.

How should I understand autant que possible in marcher autant que possible? Is it like “as much as possible”?

Yes. Autant que possible literally means as much as possible.

In this sentence:

• marcher autant que possible = walk as much as possible (or as often as possible, depending on context)

Structure:

• autant que = as much as
• possible = possible

You’ll see similar expressions:

• parler autant que possible – to speak as much as possible
• travailler autant que possible – to work as much as possible

So the whole idea is: walk whenever you can / as often and as long as you reasonably can.

Could I say le plus possible instead of autant que possible? Is there a difference?

Yes, you can say:

• marcher le plus possible

Both:

• autant que possible
• le plus possible

are often used to mean as much as possible, and in many everyday contexts they are interchangeable.

Very roughly:

• autant que possible leans a bit more toward as much as is possible (within limits).
• le plus possible leans a bit more toward a maximum idea: as much as you possibly can.

But for this sentence, both sound natural:

• Paul pense que nous devrions marcher autant que possible.
• Paul pense que nous devrions marcher le plus possible.

Why is there no subjunctive after pense que here? I thought French uses the subjunctive a lot.

After penser que, French normally uses the indicative, not the subjunctive, when the speaker affirms or thinks something is true.

Here:

• Paul pense que nous devrions utiliser moins de carburant…
  • devrions is conditional, but not subjunctive.
  • The clause is treated as something Paul believes or considers a good idea, not as something doubtful or denied.

The subjunctive is used more with:

• ne… pas / ne… pas vraiment (negation)
• doubt, uncertainty, emotion, desire, etc.

Examples:

• Je pense qu’il vient. – I think he is coming. (indicative)
• Je ne pense pas qu’il vienne. – I don’t think he is coming. (vienne = subjunctive)

In your sentence, penser que is not negated, so we stay with normal moods (here, the conditional because of devrions).

How is moins pronounced in moins de carburant, and is there any liaison?

Pronunciation details:

• moins is pronounced approximately [mwan]:

  • The s at the end is silent.
  • The oi is like [wa].

• moins de:

  • In careful speech, there can be a light linking: [mwan də].
  • The s remains silent; you don’t pronounce it like a z here.

• carburant:

  • Approximate pronunciation: [kaʁ.by.ʁɑ̃]
  • Final t is silent.

So the phrase can sound like:

• [pɔl pɑ̃s kə nu dœvʁijɔ̃ myn də kaʁbyʁɑ̃ e maʁʃe otɑ̃ kə pɔsibl] (approximate IPA for the whole sentence), but at your level it’s enough to remember:
• moins = mwan, no s sound.