Breakdown of Paul et Marie veulent tous les deux travailler à l'étranger plus tard.
Questions & Answers about Paul et Marie veulent tous les deux travailler à l'étranger plus tard.
Why is it veulent and not veut?
Why is travailler in the infinitive?
Because after vouloir (to want), French normally uses another verb in the infinitive.
So the structure is:
- vouloir + infinitive
Examples:
- Je veux manger = I want to eat
- Nous voulons partir = We want to leave
- Paul et Marie veulent travailler = Paul and Marie want to work
So travailler stays in its basic form because it follows veulent.
What does tous les deux mean here?
Tous les deux means both or more literally the two of them.
In this sentence, it emphasizes that Paul and Marie both want to do this.
So:
- Paul et Marie veulent travailler... = Paul and Marie want to work...
- Paul et Marie veulent tous les deux travailler... = Paul and Marie both want to work...
It adds emphasis that this is true for each of them, not just for them as a pair.
Why is it tous les deux and not tout les deux?
Because tous agrees with a plural idea: les deux = the two.
Here, Paul et Marie refers to two people, so French uses tous.
- tout = singular
- tous = plural masculine or mixed group
- toutes = plural feminine
Since Paul et Marie is a mixed group, French uses the masculine plural form by default:
- tous les deux
If you were talking about two women only, you might also hear or see toutes les deux.
Why is tous les deux placed after veulent?
In French, expressions like tous les deux often come after the conjugated verb when they emphasize the subject.
So:
- Paul et Marie veulent tous les deux travailler...
This is very natural.
You can also hear:
- Paul et Marie veulent travailler tous les deux...
That is also possible, but the emphasis shifts slightly.
With veulent tous les deux, the focus is more on the fact that both of them want it.
What exactly is à l'étranger?
À l'étranger is a fixed expression meaning abroad or in a foreign country / foreign countries.
- vivre à l'étranger = to live abroad
- travailler à l'étranger = to work abroad
- partir à l'étranger = to go abroad
Even though English uses one word, abroad, French often uses this expression with à.
Why is it à l'étranger and not just étranger?
Why is there an apostrophe in l'étranger?
What does plus tard mean, and why is it at the end?
Plus tard means later or later on.
Placed at the end, it sounds very natural in French:
- ... travailler à l'étranger plus tard
This is similar to how English often puts later or later on near the end.
French word order is often flexible with time expressions, but the end of the sentence is a very common place for them.
Could plus tard go somewhere else in the sentence?
Yes, sometimes, but the version in the sentence is the most natural and neutral.
For example, you may hear:
But that sounds more like Later, Paul and Marie both want to work abroad, which is less natural if you mean in the future.
For the idea of a future plan or intention, plus tard at the end works best:
- Paul et Marie veulent tous les deux travailler à l'étranger plus tard.
Is vouloir acting like a modal verb here?
Yes, very much like in English.
In this sentence, veulent works like want to in English:
- They want to work
So vouloir is followed directly by another verb in the infinitive, without any extra word between them.
Compare:
- They want to work
- Ils veulent travailler
French does not put a separate word for to before travailler here.
How is veulent pronounced? It doesn’t seem to match the spelling.
Yes, this is a very common learner question. Veulent is pronounced roughly like vuhl.
Important points:
- the ending -ent in the ils / elles form is usually not pronounced
- so veulent does not sound like it has an extra syllable at the end
Very roughly:
- veut = vuh
- veulent = also roughly vuhl / vuh
This is one reason spoken French can feel tricky: different spellings may sound very similar.
Can I say Paul et Marie veulent travailler à l'étranger tous les deux plus tard?
It is grammatically understandable, but it is not the most natural order.
The original sentence is smoother:
Why?
- tous les deux naturally stays close to the idea it emphasizes: veulent
- plus tard fits well at the end
French often prefers this kind of rhythm and balance. So your version would probably be understood, but native speakers would usually choose the original wording.
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