"J'embrasse qui je veux et quand je le veux !"

Translation: I kiss who I want and when I want!

[STRADS1551]

Is the "le" in "quand je le veux" absolutely necessary?

[relox84]

It sounds more natural without it.

[TimmyKilminster]

Whether we need le is difficult. We say j'adore for "I love it", but je l'éspère for "I hope so" and je le veux for "I want to [do it]". I have spoken to French people (because it's something I noticed) and grammarians, and have yet to find an explanation. It seems not to be related to whether the verb is transitive.

However, one factor seems fairly consistent: if you're talking about something (as in j'adore), you don't need a direct object. If you're talking about a consequence, or something which might happen, or aomething you'd do, you do need the object pronoun.

Obviously this isn't a grammatical explanation, and it's based on hearing French as it's spoken daily, and I may be wrong.

[Katherine82873]

Whom is correct; in casual speech, many English speakers do not use it correctly. In fact, sometimes the correct usage sounds unnatural. Imagine the Ghostbusters tagline as "Whom you gonna call?" Kinda doesn't quite have the same vibe.

[matteo_tonezzer]

Shouldn't it be "I kiss whom I want..."?
It is object, not subject

[Black_Cherries]

Technically, yes.

[LeeBrownst1]

It rejected "i kiss whom i want when i want". Was my sin using "whom" or eliding the "and"? Reported 4 August 2020.

[deactivated user]

Skipping the "and" was your error.

[Davidevans1402]

I would like to know why there is le in this statement.

[BenYoung84]

vouloir is a transitive verb, it always requires an object, something that's not true for "want".

[NickWoodal1]

Me too

[Tweed903443]

Anyone else find this sentence creepy, and a bit offensive?

[Brawniosaurus]

I cringe each time I come across it.

[BenYoung84]

It's not an instruction manual.

[deactivated user]

Childish, maybe, and embarrassing if you're the mother of the person doing the indiscriminate kissing... :-)

[cheesemom]

Absolutely!!!

[CornflakeBoy]

Sounds like Trump or Biff Tannen talking.

[Willis11565]

Just guessing but it may refer back to the "qui" in the first part. Roughly: I kiss who I want and when I want (to kiss them)

[-BigWayne19-]

------- when i want to do (it ) . . .

Big 30 jul 20

[Lynne196425]

The more natural English translation is, "I kiss who I want, when I want!"

[Olga793905]

Was marked correct earlier when I omitted the 'le'

[Sally810296]

I have answered with and without the 'le', and both were counted correct.

[Mike_Batty]

I (dimly) recall Sitesurf explaining that to complete the sentence, the verb needs an object. The pronoun "le" satisfies that need.
Anyone who knows better, please correct me.

[JoanneDela8]

Who represents the subject. Whom is the direct object or the object of a preposition. Whom is the correct word here.

[JoBorn1]

Is there a reason why le is there?

[NicolaKoh1]

This leans a little too much into sexual assault territory

[-BigWayne19-]

------- i thought embrasser = to hug ? . . .

Big 30 jul 20

[relox84]

That's its original meaning, but it's not used that way anymore (at least not in France, could be different in Canada) and "faire un câlin" is used instead.

Interestingly, a couple related verbs changed meaning in a way that almost makes a chain:
embrasser took the meaning of baiser, baiser took the meaning of foutre and foutre became a vulgar synonym for mettre and faire.

[-BigWayne19-]

------ thx, relox. this's the best response i've ever gotten in any language . . .

Big 30 jul 20

[AndyKVA-USA]

Obviously the speaker is Donald Trump!

[Harpua22]

"I get impeached whenever I want, too!"

[NEaeUubo]

"I kiss who I want and when I want!" -- You are dreaming Duo !!!!

[TimmyKilminster]

It was only a peck on the cheek.

[V3WW9ody]

"I kiss whom I wish and when I wish!" Is this really incorrect? It sounds more emphatic to me.

[NicolaKoh1]

i think you'd have to use souhaîter instead of vouloir