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
Share / Tweet / Pin Me!

You must log in to post a comment.