explain 'to' please

Question

tu lis pour te relaxer, you read to relax,  why te is used  for to and not au?

Accepted Answer

Hi Ankita,
The verb to relax is ‘se relaxer’ in French and it is reflexive so in that sentence -
Tu lis pour te relaxer = You read to relax (yourself)
the 'te' represents yourself.
Other forms will have the appropriate reflexive pronouns -

Je lis pour me relaxer= I read to relax (myself)
Elle/il lit pour se relaxer= She/he/reads to relax (herself/himself)
Nous lisons pour nous relaxer = We read to relax ourselves
Vous lisez pour vous relaxer = You read to relax yourselves
Ils /elles lisent pour se relaxer = They read to relax themselves

Hope this helps

Answer

Ankita, the French sentence translated more directly to English is effectively ‘you read (in order/to be able) to relax you (yourself)’. That is not how we would say it in English - a more natural/colloquial translation is given.

There is no French preposition for ‘to’ required - the French infinitive is not the same form as English infinitives

https://www.lawlessfrench.com/grammar/infinitive

The verb ‘Relaxer’ is transitive in French, and requires a direct object, hence the direct object pronoun placed before the verb infinitive

https://www.wordreference.com/fren/relaxer

Position of French Object Pronouns - with infinitives

Answer

It confuses me when I see " he vais dans la salle pour laver". Why the preposition "dans" and not " à "  . Please can I get any explanation for the use of "dans"?

Answer

It confuses me when I see " he vais dans la salle pour laver". Why the preposition "dans" and not " à "  . Please can I get any explanation for the use of "dans"?

Answer

Emmanuel, ‘dans’ is used to specifically indicate ‘into’ rather than just ‘to’.

As a general rule, French tends to be quite precise and particular with preposition use, and tends to minimise ambiguity.