# FR: I'm not sure I would want to go to Morocco if I didn't know anyone there



## Trendywendy_41

Hi there, just looking at the same subject as this thread with subjunctive,

This is what I'm trying to say:

1) "Je ne suis pas sûre de vouloir aller au Maroc si je ne connais personne sur place."
2) "Je ne suis pas sûre que je voudrais aller au Maroc si je ne connaissais personne sur place."

And this is what I've been told:

Why can we have the infinitive in 1) and not in 2)?
1) Both verbs "veux" and "suis" are in the present of the indicative tense, so you can use the infinitive.

2)"vouloir" is in the conditional, whereas "suis" is in the indicative, so you can't use the infinitive.

Would you agree with this explanation, (Je ne suis pas sûr de (le) comprendre) do both sentences sound ok to you?

I've been told that one only used the infinitive with same subjects - no exceptions.

Trendy


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## jann

What are you trying to say?

I'm not sure I want to go to Morocco if I'm not going to know anyone there?
I'm not sure I would want to go to Morocco if I didn't know anyone?
I'm not sure I want to go to Morocco since I don't/won't know anyone there?

Something else?


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## djweaverbeaver

Hi,

*Ne pas être sûr si* is definitely an Anglicism and should be avoided in careful language.  It has, however, crept into the more informal language (spoken, in Internet forums, etc.).  Here's a good explanation, even if it's addressed to Finnish speakers.


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## atcheque

itka said:


> Nicomon said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Mais _je ne suis pas sûre qu'elle pourra_, plutôt que _puisse _ne me choquerait pas.
> 
> 
> 
> Moi non plus. Au *futur,* le verbe à l'indicatif est parfaitement acceptable.
Click to expand...

 eh oui, pauvre français sans subjonctif futur


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## Trendywendy_41

Hello,
I'm trying to say 'I'm not sure I would want to go to Morocco if I didn't know anyone there.'
But being told that I cannot use the conditional or future with the subjunctive with only one subject the meaning was lost.
Also, I've been told not to use 'Je ne suis pas sûr si....'
I wondered if I could use the Si if I wanted to say 
I don't know _whether _I would like to go to to Morocco if I didn't know anyone there. But was told never to use si with Je ne suis pas sûre.
Take the example above, Je ne sais pas si je serai prête. 
Maybe I should just use "Je ne sais pas si je voudrais aller au Maroc si je ne connaissais personne sur place??? 
Can I use Je ne suis pas sûre *que *with the conditional or future same subject - that's my question.
Jann It would help to know all three sentences.

Thanks guys

Trendy


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## jann

Ok, so the let's try to address things one at a time.

It's true that most of the time, we need an infinitive construction instead of [que + subjunctive] in the second half of a sentence when the subject of the subordinate is the same as that of the principal clause.  However, it's not true that you can "never" have the same subject in both clauses; that's an over simplification. 

That's for the general case.  Now what about this specific one?  A quick google search on "je ne suis pas sûr que je" shows an awful lot of hits, many of which are in pretty informal or poorly-written French.  So people definitely do repeat the same subject sometimes after _ne pas être sûr(e)_, even if the recommended structure is probably _je ne suis pas sûr(e) de + infinitive_.

Now assuming you're going to go with the colloquial solution and repeat the subject, can you get away with using something other than the subjunctive after _je ne suis pas sûr(e) que je..._?  Certainly you can use the future if you're referring to the future; that's not a problem at all because French doesn't have a future subjunctive (as mentioned in several posts above).  But can you use a conditional?  Judging from those google hits, people do.  But would you, as a non-native speaker, be well-advised to use that kind of French?  I'd say no... and especially not if you're writing this sentence for a French class assignment! 

So to get back to the original question, what would a (careful) French speaker say?

Let's imagine that this French person in fact knows no one in Morocco, and has been given the opportunity to go there:
_Je ne suis pas sûr(e) de vouloir aller au Maroc ; je n'y connais personne.  _
I'm not sure I want to go to Morocco -- I don't know anyone there.

Now let us imagine that this French person is thinking of a hypothetical situation, imagining what it would be like to travel to Morocco if he didn't know anyone there.  The implication is that he does in fact know someone there and that he doesn't have any problem traveling there... but he's putting himself in someone else's shoes and trying to imagine if he would feel differently if he didn't have any contacts in the country.
_Si je ne connaissais personne au Maroc, je ne sais pas si je voudrais y aller.
__Si je ne connaissais personne au Maroc, je me demande si je voudrais y aller._If I didn't know anyone in Morocco, I don't know if/whether I'd want to go there.

_Est-ce que je voudrais aller au Maroc si je n'y connaissais personne ? Ce n'est pas sûr !_
Would I want to go to Morocco if I didn't know anyone there?  ~I'm not sure I would!

Other people may have better suggestions.


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## Trendywendy_41

Thank you Jann - That's a great help,
So really, it's as I thought, "Maybe I should just use "Je ne sais pas si je voudrais aller au Maroc si je ne connaissais personne sur place." Only you have reversed the sentence. 
_Si je ne connaissais personne au Maroc, je ne sais pas si je voudrais y aller._
It seems clear that one should avoid 'Je ne suis pas sûr si......' And I do want to know the correct way.
Using the infinitive in the present - Je ne suis pas sûre de vouloir aller au Maroc; je n'y connais personne. You haven't used 'si' in between - would that be bad French?
So just to confirm - one shouldn't use the conditional after Je ne suis pas sûre *que*, but it's ok after Je ne sais pas *si*.
Je ne suis pas sûre que je voudrai vous rejoiner au Maroc - is ok.

Sorry to go on but this has been un cauchemar!

Trendy


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## jann

> Using the infinitive in the present - Je ne suis pas sûre de vouloir  aller au Maroc; je n'y connais personne. You haven't used 'si' in  between - would that be bad French?


It would be a strange thing to say in French.  If you say, "Je ne suis pas sûre de vouloir  aller au Maroc *si* je n'y connais personne" then people will be puzzled: so do you or don't you know anyone there?  What do you mean by "...*if* I don't know anyone there"?!  Surely you know whether or not you have any acquaintances in Morocco!

When the point is entirely hypothetical, you won't use the present tense  ("je n'y connais personne") to talk about it in French.  That's why it  doesn't work to insert a _si_ here.  In my sentence, there was no "if," and there was nothing hypothetical.  In my sentence, it is a fact that you don't know anyone there.  Therefore, you are not sure you want to go.


I am hoping some native speakers will weigh in about your specific examples.


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## Trendywendy_41

Yep - get it 

Thanks again

Trendy


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## Maître Capello

First off:
_Je ne suis pas sûr *si*…_ 
_Je ne suis pas sûr *que*…_ 
_Je ne *sais* pas *si*…_ 

Regarding the repetition of the subject vs. using an infinitive clause, in this specific case, I would not say it is necessarily colloquial, especially if using another tense than the tense of the main verb, e.g., the conditional:
_Je ne suis pas sûr *que je veuille* aller au Maroc. → Je ne suis pas sûr *de vouloir* aller au Maroc._
_Je ne suis pas sûr *que je voudrais* aller au Maroc._

Here the hypothetical condition (_if I didn't know anyone there_) requires a conditional, so you cannot use the infinitive clause:
_Je ne suis pas sûr *de vouloir* aller au Maroc si je ne connaissais personne là-bas._ 
_Je ne suis pas sûr *que je voudrais* aller au Maroc si je ne connaissais personne là-bas. _

That being said, it would be more natural to say _Je ne *pense* pas que_ instead of _Je ne suis pas sûr que_:
_Je ne pense pas que je voudrais aller au Maroc si je ne connaissais personne là-bas._


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## Trendywendy_41

Maître!!!  I could jump through the écran and kiss your pieds!!

That's it!!! 

Thanks to Jann too. 

Love this forum!

Right...moving on to the imperfect subjunctive 

Trendy


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## quinoa

jann said:


> Je ne suis pas sûre de vouloir aller au Maroc *si* je n'y connais personne


It seems possible to me, 
"I have planned to go there, or I have to for some reason, but I have to decide, and no decision has been made yet." And the fact that I don't know anyone there, is the element which is going to get me to make a decision.


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## Trendywendy_41

Thank you Quinoa,
Yes, it seemed a little strange to me too.  I think the ......Si je n'y connais personne makes more sense than ommitting it (In my very humble opinion!)
I added the Si and my teacher didn't query it - so the Si stays!

Trendy


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