La professeure ne veut punir personne, mais elle doit le faire si un élève copie sur sa voisine.

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Breakdown of La professeure ne veut punir personne, mais elle doit le faire si un élève copie sur sa voisine.

• vouloir: to want
• si: if
• mais: but

Questions & Answers about La professeure ne veut punir personne, mais elle doit le faire si un élève copie sur sa voisine.

Why is it la professeure and not le professeur?

Professeure is a feminine form meaning female teacher / female professor. In modern French, many job titles now have feminine forms, and professeure is common.

That said, you may also hear le professeur or even la professeur in some contexts, depending on region, register, or personal preference. But la professeure is a perfectly normal modern choice for a woman.

Also, prof is a very common short form in everyday French.

How does ne veut punir personne work? Why isn’t there a pas?

In French, personne can mean nobody / no one when it is used in a negative structure.

So:

• ne ... pas = not
• ne ... personne = nobody / no one

Here, personne replaces pas. You do not say ne veut pas punir personne in standard French if you mean wants to punish nobody, because that would create a double negative in a way French does not use here.

So:

• Elle ne veut punir personne = She does not want to punish anyone / She wants to punish nobody.

Why is personne placed after punir?