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French preposition
The preposition sans is used similarly to its English equivalent “without,” but not without a few differences.
1) Absence
| Je suis sorti sans parapluie. | I went out without an umbrella. | |
| Nous avons mangé sans lui. | We ate without him. |
2) Lack of action
| Faites-le sans attendre. | Do it right away (without waiting). | |
| Il est entré sans faire du bruit. | He entered without making a sound. |
3) Hypothetical lack
| Sans toi, je serais perdu. | I would be lost without you. | |
| Je ne peux pas travailler sans musique. | I can’t study without music. |
4) Negation
Many English words and phrases with -less, non-, un-, etc. are equivalent to sans plus the corresponding French noun.
| sans abri | homeless | |
| sans arrêt | non-stop | |
| sans blague | no kidding | |
| sans domicile fixe (SDF) | homeless | |
| sans doute | doubtless | |
| sans égal | unequaled, peerless | |
| sans préjugés | unbiased | |
| sans repos | relentless, without stopping | |
| etc. |
5) Expressions with sans
| Il n’y a pas d’effet sans cause. | Cause and effect | |
| Il n’y a pas de fumée sans feu. | There’s no smoke without a fire. | |
| Il n’y a pas de roses sans épines. | Every rose has its thorn. | |
| On ne fait pas d’omelettes sans casser des œufs. | You can’t make an omelette without breaking eggs. | |
| Que celui qui est sans péché lui jette la première pierre. | Let he who is without sin cast the first stone. |
Sans is usually followed directly by a noun, with no article in between. Learn more: Prepositions with nouns.
Sans is occasionally found in English. The phrase everyone knows is sans serif, meaning a font that has no "serifs" (a non-French word meaning small lines attached to the ends of each letter).
Related lessons
- Antonym: avec
- Introduction to prepositions
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