Language/French/Grammar/Omission-of-the-article-after-sans,-avec,-en,-sur,-sous,-par,-ni
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French Grammar – Omission of the article after sans, avec, en, sur, sous, par, ni ... ni
The article is frequently omitted when a noun alone follows sans, avec, en, sur, sous, par, or two nouns alone appear in the expression ni . . . ni:
French | English |
---|---|
sans arrêt | continuously |
sans difficulté | without difficulty |
sans délai | without delay |
sans sucre | without sugar |
sans manche | with no handle |
avec patience | with patience |
avec difficulté | with difficulty |
en colère | angry |
en guerre | at war |
en réparation | being repaired |
en théorie | in theory |
en marbre | in marble |
sur commande | by order |
sous verre | under glass |
sous pression | under pressure |
deux fois par semaine | twice a week |
par pitié | out of pity |
Il ne portait ni chapeau | He was wearing neither a hat |
ni cravate | nor a tie |
But if the noun is modified (for example by an adjective) the article is not omitted:
French | English |
---|---|
sans la moindre difficulté | without the least difficulty |
sans même le plus petit retard | without even the slightest delay |
avec une patience admirable | with admirable patience |
sous la pression du gouvernement | under pressure from the government |
NB: en cannot normally co-occur with an article. When an article is required, the preposition changes to dans:
en théorie | BUT | dans la théorie d'Einstein |
in theory | in Einstein's theory | |
en pratique | BUT | dans la pratique |
in practice | in practice |
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