Les pompiers entrent dans le bâtiment sans que personne ne crie.

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Breakdown of Les pompiers entrent dans le bâtiment sans que personne ne crie.

• entrer: to enter, to go in, to come in
• personne: anyone
• le bâtiment: the building

Questions & Answers about Les pompiers entrent dans le bâtiment sans que personne ne crie.

Why do we say sans que here instead of just sans?

Sans can be followed in two main ways:

1. Sans + noun / pronoun / infinitive

   • Les pompiers entrent sans casque. – The firefighters go in without helmets.
   • Les pompiers entrent sans crier. – The firefighters go in without screaming (they themselves don’t scream).

2. Sans que + clause (with a different subject)

   • Les pompiers entrent sans que personne ne crie. – The firefighters go in without anyone screaming.

We use sans que because the subject of crie (personne) is not the same as the subject of entrent (les pompiers).
If the firefighters themselves were the ones not screaming, we’d normally say:

• Les pompiers entrent dans le bâtiment sans crier.

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Why is crie in the subjunctive after sans que?