Reviewing after class | Learn French in English

Sentence explanations

1. Que fais-tu après le cours ?

   What do you do after class?

   Que

   what

   fais-tu

   do you do

   après

   after

   cours

   class

   More detail

   Que is an interrogative pronoun meaning “what.” Here it asks about the thing or activity involved in what the listener does. In other questions, qui asks about a person: Qui vient ? means “Who is coming?” fais-tu contains the present-tense form fais of faire (“to do” or “to make”) and the subject pronoun tu (“you,” singular informal). Fais is the form used with tu: tu fais. In this question, French uses subject–verb inversion, so the order is fais-tu rather than tu fais. The hyphen is part of this written question pattern. Example: Que fais-tu maintenant ? — “What are you doing now?” après means “after” and places one event or time later than another. It is commonly followed by a noun phrase, as in après le cours (“after class”), or by an infinitive in another pattern, such as après avoir mangé (“after eating”). cours is the noun cours, meaning “class” or “course” here. It is masculine, which is why the phrase uses the definite article le. The spelling cours is the same for singular and plural, although the surrounding article or context can show the number: le cours is “the class,” while les cours is “the classes” or “classes.” Together, après le cours means “after class.” The whole question, Que fais-tu après le cours ?, asks “What do you do after class?” The present tense can describe a usual activity or an activity understood as relevant around that time; the sentence itself does not specify a particular future date or a single completed event.

2. Je reste ici et je révise.

   I stay here and review.

   Je

   I

   reste

   stay

   ici

   here

   et

   and

   révise

   review

   More detail

   Je means “I” here and is the first-person singular subject pronoun. It identifies the speaker as the person who performs both actions. Example: Je travaille. — “I work.” reste is the present-tense form of rester (“to stay/remain”) with je. The related forms are tu restes and il/elle/on reste; the final -s in restes marks the tu form in writing. Example: Je reste à la maison. — “I stay at home.” ici means “here.” It is an adverb, so it does not change form. Example: Nous restons ici. — “We stay here.” et joins two coordinated elements. Here it links two actions performed by the same subject, Je: staying and reviewing. Example: Je lis et j’écris. — “I read and write.” révise is the present-tense form of réviser (“to review” or “to study/revise”) with je. The related forms are tu révises and il/elle/on révise; révises has the written -s ending for tu. In this utterance, the speaker says that they review or study without specifying what they review. Example: Je révise avant le contrôle. — “I review before the test.” Together, Je reste ici says “I stay here,” and et je révise adds a second action by the same speaker: “and I review.” The complete utterance therefore means “I stay here and review.”

3. Est-ce qu'on peut utiliser cette salle encore un peu ?

   Can we use this room for a while longer?

   Est-ce qu'on

   Can we …?

   peut

   can

   utiliser

   use

   cette

   this

   salle

   room

   encore

   still; again

   un peu

   a little

   More detail

   Est-ce qu'on introduces a yes/no question. Here on means “we,” and the verb that follows remains in the third-person singular form: Est-ce qu'on peut… ? means “Can we…?” This question pattern is reusable with another verb: Est-ce qu'on peut entrer ? — “Can we come in?” peut is the third-person singular present form of pouvoir, “to be able to / can.” With on, French uses this singular form even when on means “we.” Pouvoir is followed by an infinitive: on peut utiliser — “we can use.” utiliser is the infinitive “to use.” After a conjugated form of pouvoir, the following verb stays in the infinitive rather than being conjugated: Je peux utiliser cette salle. — “I can use this room.” cette is the singular feminine form of the demonstrative meaning “this.” It agrees with the noun it determines; it does not itself identify the referent. The corresponding masculine singular form is ce: ce livre — “this book,” while cette salle means “this room.” salle is a feminine noun meaning “room” or “hall,” depending on context. Its feminine gender is reflected by the form cette; the noun itself names the place being used. une salle means “a room,” and la salle means “the room.” encore commonly means “still” or “again.” In this utterance, together with un peu, it contributes the idea that the activity should continue for an additional amount of time: “a little longer.” Its exact contribution comes from the combination, not from encore alone. un peu means “a little” or “a bit.” Here it measures the additional duration of using the room. The indefinite article un is part of this fixed expression; it does not by itself state a separate count. Example: Attends un peu. — “Wait a little.” Together, Est-ce qu'on peut utiliser cette salle asks whether “we” are able or permitted to use this room, and encore un peu asks for a small continuation of that use. The complete meaning is: “Can we use this room for a while longer?”

4. Nous pouvons rester ici après le cours.

   We can stay here after the lesson.

   Nous pouvons

   we can

   rester

   stay; remain

   ici

   here

   après

   after

   cours

   lesson; class

   More detail

   Nous pouvons means “we can” here. pouvons is the first-person plural present form of pouvoir (“to be able to; can”): je peux, tu peux, il/elle peut, nous pouvons, vous pouvez, ils/elles peuvent. The subject nous identifies the speaker together with at least one other person. Pouvoir is followed by an infinitive: Nous pouvons rester = “We can stay.” Example: Nous pouvons partir maintenant. — “We can leave now.” rester is an infinitive meaning “to stay” or “to remain.” After a conjugated form of pouvoir, the infinitive names the action that is possible: peut rester = “can stay.” Example: Je veux rester ici. — “I want to stay here.” ici means “here,” referring to the place associated with the speaking situation. It is an invariable location adverb. Its useful contrast is là (“there”), which points to a place farther from the speaker or already indicated. après means “after” and places one event or time later than another. In this sentence, it introduces le cours, so the staying is to occur later than the lesson. Example: Après le travail, je rentre chez moi. — “After work, I go home.” cours means “lesson” in the supplied translation. In French, un cours can also mean a class or course, depending on context. Here, le is the definite article (“the”), and cours is a masculine noun; the final s is part of the noun's written form and is not pronounced in this word. The phrase le cours therefore means “the lesson” in this utterance. Together, Nous pouvons rester ici expresses that the speaker and others are able to stay in the present location. après le cours specifies when: the staying can happen after the lesson. The complete meaning is “We can stay here after the lesson.”

5. C'est utile à savoir.

   That is helpful to know.

   C'est

   That is / It is

   utile

   helpful; useful

   à savoir

   to know

   More detail

   C'est is the contraction of ce and est (être, “to be”). Here, ce points to something understood from the situation and is translated as “that”; est is the third-person singular present form of être. The same pattern is reusable: C'est + adjective, for example, C'est important. — “It is important.” utile means “helpful” or “useful” here. It is an adjective, and its form does not change for masculine or feminine in this spelling. Its plural form is utiles. Example: Ces conseils sont utiles. — “These tips are useful.” à savoir uses à followed by the infinitive savoir, “to know.” In this expression, à savoir introduces something that is useful or worth knowing. The infinitive stays savoir; it is not a person-marked verb form. Example: C'est bon à savoir. — “That is good to know.” Together, C'est utile à savoir. means “That is helpful to know.” The structure is C'est (“That is”) + utile (“helpful”) + à savoir (“to know”).

6. Alors, révisons ici ensemble.

   Then let's review here together.

   Alors

   Then

   révisons

   let's review

   ici

   here

   ensemble

   together

   More detail

   Alors means “then” here and links this utterance to what has just been said. It can also mean “so” in other contexts, but this sentence uses it as a transition. révisons is the first-person plural imperative of réviser, “to review.” The imperative first-person plural commonly expresses “let’s …”: Révisons = “let’s review.” The same written form can also be the present-tense “we review,” so the context and the suggestion-like use identify the imperative reading here. Example: Commençons. — “Let’s begin.” ici is an adverb meaning “here,” referring to the place relevant in the conversation. It does not change for number or gender. Example: Nous travaillons ici. — “We work here.” ensemble is an adverb meaning “together.” It describes the shared way of carrying out the review; it is not an adjective agreeing with a noun. Example: Travaillons ensemble. — “Let’s work together.” Together, Alors introduces the next step, révisons proposes that the speaker and the addressee review something, and ici ensemble specifies that they do so here and together. The whole utterance means: “Then let’s review here together.”