Without another event happening

The idea

After sin que, use the subjunctive. With the same subject, sin plus an infinitive is often natural.

Examples

• Salieron sin que nadie los viera.They left without anyone seeing them.
• Lee sin que el ruido te moleste.Read without the noise bothering you.
• Cocinamos sin que se quemara el arroz.We cooked without the rice burning.
• Abre la caja sin que caigan las piezas.Open the box without the pieces falling.
• El tren pasó sin que lo oyéramos.The train passed without our hearing it.
• Entró sin llamar a la puerta.They came in without knocking on the door.

Watch out

Do not use the indicative after sin que, even when the main action happened in the past.

Try it yourself

1. Choose the correct form: Me iré sin que el vecino ___ la noticia. (sepa / sabe)

   Show answer or example answer

   sepa

   sepa refers to the neighbour, who does not know.

2. Choose the correct form: Nos fuimos sin que el autobús ___. (llegara / llegaba)

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   llegara

   llegara places the unannounced arrival in a past context.

3. Choose the correct form: Salió sin ___ ruido. (hacer / que hace)

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   hacer

   hacer shares its subject with the person leaving.

Use it today

Describe an action that happens without someone else noticing.