Family and pets at home | Learn French in English

Sentence explanations

1. Tu vis avec ta famille ?

   Do you live with family?

   Tu

   you

   vis

   live

   avec

   with

   ta

   your

   famille

   family

   More detail

   Tu is the singular informal subject pronoun “you.” It addresses one person familiarly or informally; vous is used for plural “you” and for formal singular address. vis is the present-tense form of vivre with tu: tu vis, “you live.” The verb is irregular, so its base form is vivre, not viser. Example: Je vis ici. — “I live here.” avec means “with” and introduces the person or thing accompanying someone. Example: Elle travaille avec son frère. — “She works with her brother.” ta is the French possessive adjective meaning “your” before a singular feminine noun. It agrees with the possessed noun, not with the possessor: ta famille. In the next sentence, mon enfant means “my child”; mon is the possessive form used before the singular noun enfant. Because enfant begins with a vowel, mon can also be used if the noun is feminine; the form alone does not establish the child’s gender. famille is the feminine singular noun “family.” Its plural is familles, “families.” Here, ta famille means “your family.” Together, Tu vis asks “Do you live?” In French, this question can be formed with statement-like word order and rising intonation in speech; the question mark marks it in writing. avec ta famille adds “with your family,” so the whole utterance means “Do you live with your family?”

2. J'habite avec mon enfant.

   I live with my child.

   J'habite

   I live

   avec

   with

   mon

   my

   enfant

   child

   More detail

   J'habite means “I live” here. It is the first-person singular present form of habiter (“to live” or “to reside”). Je becomes j' before a vowel sound, as in J'habite; this is elision. Example: J'habite à Paris. — “I live in Paris.” French also uses vivre for “to live”; the supplied question uses vis, the present form of vivre, while habite focuses naturally on where someone resides. avec means “with” and is a preposition introducing the person or thing accompanying someone. Example: Elle travaille avec son frère. — “She works with her brother.” mon means “my” before the singular noun enfant. It is a possessive determiner agreeing with the possessed noun, not with the possessor. The usual singular forms are mon with a masculine noun and ma with a feminine noun, while mes is plural. Before a vowel sound, mon is also used with a feminine singular noun: mon amie means “my female friend.” enfant means “child.” It can refer to a boy or a girl; the noun’s grammatical gender is shown by surrounding forms when needed, for example un enfant (“a child,” masculine form) and une enfant (“a child,” feminine form). Its plural is enfants (“children”). In this sentence, mon enfant means “my child.” Together, J'habite avec mon enfant expresses that the speaker lives with their child: “I live with my child.” The pattern J'habite avec + person can be reused with another person, for example J'habite avec ma sœur. — “I live with my sister.”

3. Est-ce qu'il y a aussi un animal de compagnie à la maison ?

   Is there a pet at home too?

   Est-ce qu'il y a

   is there

   aussi

   also; too

   un animal de compagnie

   a pet

   à la maison

   at home

   More detail

   Est-ce qu'il y a is a reusable French way to ask whether something exists or is present. Est-ce que introduces a yes/no question, while il y a is the fixed present-tense expression meaning “there is” or “there are”; its il is part of the expression, not a specific person. For example: Est-ce qu'il y a du lait ? — “Is there any milk?” aussi means “also” or “too.” Here it adds this pet to the situation already being discussed, without changing the question structure. Its position can vary in French, but this position is natural: Tu viens aussi ? — “Are you coming too?” un animal de compagnie means “a pet.” animal is the noun for an animal, and de compagnie specifies that it is kept for companionship. The indefinite article un marks a non-specific singular noun phrase; it does not by itself assert a numerical count as a separate fact. The plural is des animaux de compagnie: Nous avons des animaux de compagnie. — “We have pets.” à la maison means “at home” or “in the house.” à marks the location, and la maison is the specific noun phrase “the house/home.” Compare the reusable location contrast à la maison — “at home” and à l'école — “at school.” Together, Est-ce qu'il y a asks whether something is present, un animal de compagnie identifies that thing as a pet, à la maison gives its location, and aussi adds the meaning “too.” The whole utterance therefore means: “Is there a pet at home too?”

4. Nous avons un petit chien.

   We have a small dog.

   Nous avons

   we have

   un

   a/an

   petit

   small

   chien

   dog

   More detail

   Nous avons means “we have.” avons is the first-person plural present form of avoir (“to have”), used with nous. Compare j’ai (“I have”) and ils ont (“they have”); the form changes with the subject. un is the masculine singular indefinite article. Here it introduces chien as an unspecified dog; it does not by itself need to be understood as the number one. The feminine singular counterpart is une, as in une voiture (“a car”). petit means “small” here. It is the masculine singular form of the adjective; it agrees with the masculine singular noun chien. The feminine singular form is petite, as in une petite maison (“a small house”). chien means “dog.” It is a masculine noun, and its usual plural form is chiens (“dogs”). For example, J’ai un chien means “I have a dog.” Together, Nous avons + un petit chien produces “We have a small dog.” The adjective petit describes chien, and un marks that noun phrase as indefinite. The complete utterance states possession in the present: the speaker is presenting a small dog as belonging to or being with the group referred to by nous.

5. Comment s'entendent-ils ?

   How do they get along?

   Comment

   how

   s'entendent-ils

   do they get along

   More detail

   Comment means “how” and asks about the manner or nature of an action or situation. It commonly begins a question: Comment vas-tu ? means “How are you?” s'entendent-ils comes from s'entendre, which means “to get along” here. In this use, the reflexive form describes the relationship between the relevant participants. The same verb family can also express hearing or understanding in other constructions, so the construction and context matter. Example: Ils s'entendent bien. means “They get along well.” entendent is the present-tense third-person plural form of entendre, used with ils. The reflexive pronoun se is elided to s' before the vowel. In the question, the subject pronoun follows the verb: s'entendent-ils is the inverted form of ils s'entendent. The hyphens mark this subject–verb inversion, which is especially characteristic of formal or written questions. Together, Comment asks about the way, and s'entendent-ils asks about the quality of their relationship. The complete utterance therefore means “How do they get along?”

6. Ils jouent ensemble tous les jours.

   They play together every day.

   Ils

   they

   jouent

   play

   ensemble

   together

   tous les jours

   every day

   More detail

   Ils is the French subject pronoun meaning “they.” It is plural and masculine in form; it can refer to an all-male group or a mixed-gender group. French uses elles for an all-female group. The sentence and translation identify the participants only as “they,” without specifying who they are. jouent is the present-tense form of jouer (“to play”) for ils/elles: ils jouent. The ending -ent marks third-person plural in this written form and is not pronounced. For comparison: je joue means “I play,” while ils jouent means “they play.” ensemble is an adverb meaning “together.” It describes the manner of playing: the participants play jointly. Example: Nous travaillons ensemble. — “We work together.” tous les jours is a time expression meaning “every day.” Here tous agrees with the plural masculine noun jours; the phrase expresses repeated daily time, not a one-time event. Example: Elle marche tous les jours. — “She walks every day.” Together, Ils jouent ensemble tous les jours means “They play together every day”: the people referred to by ils play jointly, and this happens daily. The present tense presents the activity as a regular or current pattern.