Basic health and temperature | Learn French in English

Sentence explanations

1. Il fait trop chaud.

   It is too hot.

   Il fait

   it is (weather expression)

   trop

   too

   chaud

   hot

   More detail

   Il fait is the common French weather construction “it is” or, more literally, “it makes/does” in this fixed pattern. fait is the present-tense third-person singular form of faire (“to do; to make”): je fais, tu fais, il/elle fait. Here il is impersonal, so it does not identify a person or a specific thing as the actor. Example: Il fait beau. — “The weather is fine.” trop means “too” when it marks an excessive degree. It normally comes before the adjective it modifies: trop chaud means “too hot,” not merely “very hot.” Example: Cette soupe est trop chaude. — “This soup is too hot.” chaud means “hot” here. It is the masculine singular form of the adjective; in the fixed weather expression il fait chaud, it is not describing a named person. The feminine singular form is chaude, as in the example above. The opposite adjective is froid (“cold”): Il fait froid. — “It is cold.” Together, Il fait + trop + chaud gives Il fait trop chaud. The impersonal weather construction states the temperature or weather condition, and trop adds the meaning that the heat is excessive: “It is too hot.”

2. Il fait trop froid.

   It is too cold.

   Il fait

   the weather is

   trop

   too

   froid

   cold

   More detail

   Il fait is the standard French weather construction for describing conditions such as temperature. Here il is impersonal: it does not identify a person, and fait is the present-tense third-person singular form of faire (“to do/make”). Learn the reusable pattern Il fait + adjective: Il fait chaud. — “It is hot.” trop is an adverb meaning “too” or “excessively.” It marks a degree that is beyond the desired or comfortable level, so trop froid means “too cold,” not merely “cold.” Do not confuse it with très (“very”): Il fait très froid. means “It is very cold,” while Il fait trop froid. says that the cold is excessive. froid is the adjective “cold.” In this weather construction it appears in the masculine singular form. Its feminine singular form is froide, as in the example une boisson froide — “a cold drink.” The contrasting adjective in the supplied context is chaud (“hot”): Il fait trop chaud. — “It is too hot.” Together, Il fait + trop + froid gives Il fait trop froid.: “It is too cold.” The construction describes the weather or temperature, with trop specifying an excessive degree and froid identifying the condition.

3. Je suis très fatigué.

   I am very tired.

   Je suis

   I am

   très

   very

   fatigué

   tired

   More detail

   Je suis means “I am” here. Je is the first-person singular subject pronoun, and suis is the first-person singular present form of être (“to be”). The same verb appears in other present forms, such as tu es (“you are”) and il est (“he/it is”); these forms must not be substituted for suis when the subject is je. très is an adverb meaning “very.” It intensifies the adjective that follows: très fatigué means “very tired.” For example, Je suis très heureux. means “I am very happy.” fatigué is a descriptive adjective meaning “tired” in this utterance. It is the masculine singular form of fatigué; with a feminine singular speaker or referent, the form is fatiguée. The adjective agrees with the person or thing it describes. For example, Elle est fatiguée. means “She is tired.” Together, Je suis + très + fatigué produces “I am very tired.” The linking verb être connects the subject je with the adjective, while très increases the degree of tiredness. The complete utterance is a straightforward present-tense statement.

4. J'ai très faim.

   I am very hungry.

   J'ai

   I have

   très

   very

   faim

   hunger

   More detail

   J’ai is the contracted spelling of je + ai: ai is the first-person singular present form of avoir (“to have”). In the fixed expression avoir faim, French uses this verb where English uses “be”: J’ai faim. = “I am hungry.” The same form appears in other expressions, such as J’ai soif. = “I am thirsty.” très is an adverb meaning “very.” It intensifies the expression that follows it: J’ai très faim. means “I am very hungry.” It can also intensify an adjective, as in très fatigué (“very tired”); its form does not change for person or number. faim is the noun “hunger.” In the reusable expression avoir faim, it is normally used without an article: Nous avons faim. = “We are hungry.” The noun itself is feminine, but that gender does not make faim change form in this sentence. Together, J’ai + très faim forms the French expression for a strong degree of hunger: J’ai très faim. = “I am very hungry.”

5. J'ai très soif.

   I am very thirsty.

   J'ai

   I have

   très

   very

   soif

   thirst

   More detail

   J'ai is the elided form of je and ai: je is the first-person singular subject pronoun, and ai is the first-person singular present form of avoir (“to have”). In avoir soif, French uses avoir in an idiomatic expression for a bodily state; the natural English meaning is “to be thirsty,” not literal possession. The same pattern appears in J'ai très faim (“I am very hungry”), with a different noun. très means “very” and intensifies the degree of the thirst expressed here. It is an invariable adverb: it does not change for person, number, or gender. For example, très fatigué means “very tired.” soif is a feminine noun meaning “thirst.” In this expression it is used with avoir: avoir soif means “to be thirsty.” A useful parallel is avoir faim (“to be hungry”); these are separate expressions, so the noun is not replaced by an English-style adjective. Together, J'ai + très + soif forms J'ai très soif: “I am very thirsty.” The word order places the subject-and-verb expression first, then the intensifier, then the noun expressing the bodily state.

6. Je me sens mal.

   I am feeling sick.

   Je me sens

   I feel

   mal

   unwell

   More detail

   Je me sens means “I feel” here. It is the first-person singular present form of se sentir (“to feel”): je is the subject, and me is the reflexive pronoun referring back to the same person. The pattern Je me sens + adjective/adverbial complement is reusable for describing the speaker’s state. For example: Je me sens fatigué. — “I feel tired.” The ending of sens is the form used with je; it is not the noun or adjective that carries this verb form. mal means “badly” in this expression and describes the speaker’s state as unwell. It is an adverb, and its common contrast is bien (“well”): Je me sens bien. — “I feel well.” Here, mal does not mean that the speaker performs an action badly; with se sentir, it gives the sense “feel unwell.” Together, Je me sens mal. forms a present-tense statement about the speaker’s current condition: “I am feeling sick.” The reflexive verb se sentir supplies “feel,” while mal specifies that the feeling is unpleasant or unwell.