# FR: he does not want anybody to know



## Castaway

I want to say: They have different last names because Lelouch does not want anybody to know that he is a prince.

I have: Ils ont un nom de famille different parce que Lelouch ne veut pas personne savoir qu'il est un prince.

Which verb should be in the subjuntive? Both? Can there be two subjuntives in one sentence?

I was taught that subjuntive follows que but I think parce que does not fit into that category... although i am not sure.


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## radagasty

Castaway said:


> I have: Ils ont un nom de famille different parce que Lelouch ne veut pas personne savoir qu'il est un prince.
> 
> Which verb should be in the subjuntive? Both? Can there be two subjuntives in one sentence? I was taught that subjuntive follows que but I think parce que does not fit into that category... although i am not sure.


 
There can be two subjunctives in one sentence, but, as you say, _parce que_ does not usually take a subjunctive.

_... parce que Lelouch ne veut que personne ne sache qu'il est _(_un_)_ prince._


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## Mauricet

> _... parce que Lelouch ne veut que personne ne sache qu'il est _(_un_)_ prince._


Plutôt _parce que Lelouch veut que personne ne sache qu'il est ..._ ou bien _parce que Lelouch ne veut pas que quelqu'un sache qu'il est ..._ (sinon il y a une négation en trop).


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## Castaway

Mauricet said:


> Plutôt _parce que Lelouch veut que personne ne sache qu'il est_


You don't need to put "ne" before veut?

Or is it a different translation?


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## Fred_C

Castaway said:


> You don't need to put "ne" before veut?
> 
> Or is it a different translation?


 
Of course not !
Lelouch definitely *wants* nobody to know.
"vouloir" is not the verb which is negated.
"savoir" is.


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## Castaway

Oh, I see.. Thanks for the clarification!


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## geostan

radagasty said:


> There can be two subjunctives in one sentence, but, as you say, _parce que_ does not usually take a subjunctive.
> 
> _... parce que Lelouch ne veut que personne ne sache qu'il est _(_un_)_ prince._



I find it strange to use the _ne_ before _sache_.

Another possibility might be to use _on_.

_parce que Lelouch ne veut pas qu'on sache qu'il est prince_


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## Mauricet

geostan said:
			
		

> _parce que Lelouch ne veut pas qu'on sache qu'il est prince_



But _Lelouch veut que personne ne sache_ is not strange at all, believe me. It is quite common French, and correct.


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## geostan

Mauricet said:


> But _Lelouch veut que personne ne sache_ is not strange at all, believe me. It is quite common French, and correct.



I was suggesting that the double use of _ne_ was strange. _Lelouch *ne* veut que personne *ne* sache..._


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## itka

> I was suggesting that the double use of _ne_ was strange. _Lelouch *ne* veut que personne *ne* sache..._


It's not _strange_, geo ! I agree with you. It's completely wrong, as Mauricet stated above !


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## rrose17

I was thinking about this earlier and just for my clarification "I don't want anybody to see me." could be either
_Je ne veux pas que quelqu'un me voit.
Je veux que personne ne me voit._
Is this correct? Do they sound equally natural? Is there any nuance of difference between them? Thanks!


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## olivier68

To me, proposal 1 is far better.


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## Stéphane89

Yes, in most situations proposal 1 is what I would say naturally. Proposal 2 could be valid in some contexts, though. I'd say proposal 1 is the neutral way of expressing it and proposal 2 sounds a little bit like an order given to someone. It insists more heavily on the fact that you really don't want anybody to see you.

Also, it should be "... me voie" in both sentences.


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## Locape

Does 'I want nobody to see me' conveys the same idea as 'Je veux que personne ne me voie', compared to 'anybody'? Like @StefKE said, does it insist more heavily on 'absolutely no one'?
(If you're wondering if you should use the indicative or the subjunctive, since _voit_ (present indicative) and _voie_ (present subjunctive) sound the same, you can use the verb _être_: 'Je veux que personne ne soit là')


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## rrose17

Interesting. I don't think I'd ever say "I want nobody to see me." (Maybe, maybe "I want nobody seeing me when I go...") It sounds rather imperious and alternately very close to "I don't want nobody to see me." which is of course wrong with the double negative but still heard. Also the emphasis is on a certain nobody rather than on what I want. And thanks for the tip, you can be my subjunctive whisperer.


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## Juan Moretime

Locape said:


> 'I want nobody to see me' conveys the same idea than 'Je veux que personne ne me voie'



I see it that way too.

(1) I don't want anyone/anybody/someone to see me like this.
     Je ne veux pas que quelqu'un me voie comme ça

(2) I want no one to see me like this
     Je veux que personne ne me voie comme ça


Just like the French, I find both sentences acceptable, but I use/hear (1) far more often.


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## Juan Moretime

Locape said:


> If you're wondering if you should use the indicative or the subjunctive, since _voit_ (present indicative) and _voie_ (present subjunctive) sound the same, you can use the verb _être_: 'Je veux que personne ne soit là')



I have the impression that the French only use the subjunctive with some verbs. This idea may not be strictly true from a grammatical perspective, but you said it yourself. If you use _voir_, who's going to know the difference? So, in my view, _Être_ won the popularity contest and _avoir_ earned a silver medal. 

The trouble is _Je veux que personne ne soit là_ doesn't necessarily mean _I don't want anyone to see me_. Why even _là_ is ambiguous. Does it mean _here_ or does it mean _there_?


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## OLN

Juan Moretime said:


> I have the impression that the French only use the subjunctive with some verbs. Right, we don't use the subjonctive after all verbs ; we do after "vouloir que"  This idea may not be strictly true from a grammatical perspective, but you said it yourself. If you use _voir_, who's going to know the difference? You see the difference when it's written  So, in my view, _Être_ won the popularity contest and _avoir_ earned a silver medal. (?) You also hear the difference between _Je veux qu'il y *a *quelqu'un _(wrong) and J_e veux qu'il *ait* quelqu'un _(correct).
> 
> The trouble is _Je veux que personne ne soit là_ (= Je veux que personne ne soit présent, je veux qu'il n'y ait personne) doesn't necessarily mean _I don't want anyone to see me_. The meaning is not the same. Using _être là_ was a tip given by Locape : check what sounds right with the verb _être_, so you know whether the subjunctive is needed or not Why even _là_ is ambiguous. Does it mean _here_ or does it mean _there_? Where I am or around


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## Locape

Yes, it was just a tip the French are using when you have to write a conjugated verb that sounds tha same with two different moods, or with verbs ending with _-er_, to differentiate the infinitive from the past participle (poser/posé), or to know if there must be agreement between the past participle and the noun (posé/posées). It's easier with verbs like _être_ (est/soit) or _faire_ (fait/faites), they don't sound the same.


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