Trying on shoes | Learn French in English

Sentence explanations

1. Ces chaussures ont l'air confortables.

   These shoes look comfortable.

   Ces

   these

   chaussures

   shoes

   ont l'air

   look; seem

   confortables

   comfortable

   More detail

   Ces is the plural demonstrative meaning “these” here. It accompanies a plural noun; the form for a singular noun is ce before most consonant sounds, cet before a vowel sound or silent h, and cette with a feminine singular noun. In this sentence, Ces chaussures identifies the shoes as the things being described. chaussures means “shoes” here. Its singular base form is chaussure, and the final -s marks the plural in writing. Example: Cette chaussure est légère. — “This shoe is light.” ont l'air is the present-tense form of the reusable expression avoir l'air, literally “to have the appearance,” and it means “to look” or “seem.” Ont is the third-person plural form of avoir, selected because chaussures is plural. Compare a l'air with a singular subject: Cette chaussure a l'air légère. — “This shoe looks light.” The expression is followed here by the adjective describing the subject’s apparent quality. confortables means “comfortable” in this sentence. Its base form is confortable; the plural spelling adds -s, agreeing with plural chaussures. The adjective itself does not change for masculine versus feminine in this form; its singular/plural distinction is confortable versus confortables. Example: Ces sièges sont confortables. — “These seats are comfortable.” Together, Ces chaussures provides the plural subject, ont l'air expresses an appearance or impression, and confortables describes that apparent quality. The complete utterance therefore means “These shoes look comfortable.”

2. Elles sont faites pour les longues marches.

   They are made for long walks.

   Elles

   they

   sont faites pour

   are made for

   longues

   long

   marches

   walks

   More detail

   Elles means “they” here and is the feminine plural subject form. In the supplied context, it refers to the shoes mentioned in Ces chaussures; French uses elles for a feminine plural group. Compare elle “she/it” for one feminine referent and elles “they” for more than one feminine referent. Example: Elles sont légères. — “They are light.” Sont faites pour is the reusable pattern être fait(e)(s) pour + noun or infinitive, meaning that something is made or designed for a purpose. Sont is the present-tense form of être for elles. Faites is the feminine plural past participle of faire, agreeing with the feminine plural subject; the forms are fait (masculine singular), faite (feminine singular), faits (masculine plural), and faites (feminine plural). Example: Ces chaussures sont faites pour courir. — “These shoes are made for running.” Longues describes marches and means “long” in its feminine plural form. Its basic comparison chain is long / longue “long” and plus long “longer”; because marches is feminine plural, the adjective appears as longues. Example: De longues journées demandent des pauses. — “Long days require breaks.” Marches is the feminine plural noun for “walks” in this sentence; its singular is une marche. Example: J’aime les marches en forêt. — “I like walks in the forest.” Together, Elles sont faites pour les longues marches says that the feminine plural items referred to by elles—the shoes identified in the preceding context—are designed or suitable for long walks. The definite plural group les longues marches means “long walks” as a type of activity, not a stated number of particular walks.

3. Est-ce que je peux les essayer ici ?

   Can I try them on here?

   Est-ce que

   question marker

   peux

   can

   les

   them

   essayer

   try on

   ici

   here

   More detail

   Est-ce que introduces a yes/no question. It is a reusable question pattern placed at the beginning of a statement: Est-ce que + subject + verb ... ? The words after it keep their ordinary statement order. peux is the first-person singular present form of pouvoir (“to be able to; can”). With je, use je peux: Je peux entrer. — “I can come in.” In this question, pouvoir asks whether the speaker is allowed or able to do the action; the context supports the permission meaning. les is a plural direct-object pronoun meaning “them.” It stands before the infinitive here. Its plural form does not by itself identify a particular referent; the fixed translation establishes that it refers to the items being tried on. essayer is the infinitive “to try.” In les essayer, it means “to try them on” because the object and the surrounding shopping context specify that kind of trying. The infinitive remains unchanged after the conjugated modal peux. For example, Je peux essayer cette veste. means “I can try on this jacket.” ici means “here,” specifying the place where the action would happen. Compare essayer ici (“try on here”) with essayer là-bas (“try on over there”). Together, Est-ce que je peux asks for permission or possibility, les essayer means “try them on,” and ici adds the location. The complete utterance means: “Can I try them on here?”

4. Vous pouvez utiliser ce banc pour les mettre.

   Use this bench while you put them on.

   Vous pouvez

   you can

   utiliser

   use

   ce

   this

   banc

   bench

   les mettre

   put them on

   More detail

   Vous pouvez means “you can” here. pouvez is the present-tense form of pouvoir with vous. vous can address one person formally or more than one person, so the form itself does not establish the number of people. pouvoir is followed by an infinitive: Vous pouvez attendre. — “You can wait.” utiliser is the infinitive “to use.” After pouvoir, it names the action that is possible: Vous pouvez utiliser ce stylo. — “You can use this pen.” ce means “this” in this phrase. It is the masculine singular demonstrative form used before the noun banc; it agrees with that noun, not with the people or objects mentioned elsewhere. Other forms are cette before a feminine singular noun and ces before a plural noun. banc means “bench.” It is a masculine singular noun, as shown by ce banc. A useful contrast is un banc — “a bench” and des bancs — “benches.” pour les mettre expresses purpose: “to put them on.” pour is followed here by the infinitive mettre. les is a plural direct-object pronoun; in this context it refers to the items being tried on in the preceding exchange. mettre is the infinitive “to put,” and with clothing or similar items it can mean “to put on.” Compare Je mets les chaussures. — “I put on the shoes.” Together, Vous pouvez utiliser ce banc says “You can use this bench,” and pour les mettre explains the purpose: “to put them on.” The complete utterance therefore means “Use this bench while you put them on,” or more literally, “You can use this bench to put them on.”

5. Elles sont un peu petites.

   They feel a little small.

   Elles

   they

   sont

   are

   un peu

   a little

   petites

   small

   More detail

   Elles means “they” here and is the feminine plural subject form. French has different third-person plural pronouns: ils is used for a masculine or mixed group, while elles is used for a feminine group. The pronoun itself identifies the group as feminine and plural; the supplied translation does not specify a more particular referent. Example: Elles arrivent. — “They are arriving.” sont is the present-tense third-person plural form of être, “to be.” The chain is être → sont for “they are”; the subject elles is what requires this plural form. For comparison, elle est means “she is,” while elles sont means “they are.” un peu means “a little” and softens the following description. It is a reusable quantity/intensity expression, as in un peu difficile — “a little difficult.” In this sentence it does not assert a large degree of smallness; it presents the small size as limited or slight. petites means “small” here. Its base form is the adjective petit; petites is the feminine plural form, agreeing with elles. The main forms are petit (masculine singular), petite (feminine singular), petits (masculine plural), and petites (feminine plural). The adjective describes size, not the subject’s identity. Example: Ces chaussures sont petites. — “These shoes are small.” Here petites agrees with the feminine plural noun chaussures. Together, Elles sont gives “they are,” un peu reduces the degree, and petites supplies the size description. The complete utterance therefore means “They feel a little small,” using the fixed translation’s intended reading. In French, the literal structure is closer to “They are a little small”; the English wording “feel” presents that size judgment naturally in context.

6. Essayez cette paire plus grande.

   Try this larger pair.

   Essayez

   try

   cette

   this

   paire

   pair

   plus grande

   larger

   More detail

   Essayez is the polite or plural imperative of essayer, “to try.” The ending -ez is used here for the vous form; the subject is understood rather than stated. Example: Essayez ceci. — “Try this.” cette means “this” before a feminine singular noun. It agrees with paire, not with the person being addressed. The related masculine singular form is ce or cet depending on the following sound, while ces is plural. Example: cette veste — “this jacket.” paire means “pair.” It is a feminine singular noun, which is why the sentence uses cette and the feminine form grande. In this utterance, the fixed translation identifies the relevant item as a pair. plus grande means “larger.” grande is the feminine singular form of grand, “large” or “big,” and plus marks the comparative: plus grand(e) means “larger.” The adjective agrees with paire in feminine singular form. A comparison can be made explicit with plus grande que ..., “larger than ...,” but the comparison target can remain understood here. Example: Cette table est plus grande. — “This table is larger.” Together, Essayez cette paire plus grande. means “Try this larger pair.” The imperative Essayez asks the addressee or addressees to try the item; cette paire identifies it as this particular pair; and plus grande describes it as larger than an understood comparison point.

7. Cette paire est plus confortable.

   This pair feels better.

   Cette

   this

   paire

   pair

   est

   is

   plus confortable

   more comfortable

   More detail

   Cette means “this” here and is the feminine singular demonstrative determiner used with paire. The form agrees with the noun it introduces: ce is used with a masculine singular noun, while ces is used with plural nouns. Example: Cette veste est légère. — “This jacket is light.” paire means “pair,” here referring to the pair being tried on. It is a feminine noun, which is why the determiner is cette. The plural is paires. est is the third-person singular present form of être (“to be”). It connects the subject Cette paire with its description. A useful present-tense chain is je suis, tu es, il/elle est. plus confortable describes the pair as more comfortable. plus marks a comparative, and confortable is the adjective being compared; its base form is confortable. The adjective has the same singular form with a masculine or feminine singular noun, but its plural form is confortables. Example: Ces chaussures sont plus confortables. — “These shoes are more comfortable.” Together, Cette paire est plus confortable says that this pair provides greater comfort than the relevant alternative. In the fixed translation, that comparison is expressed naturally as “This pair feels better.”

8. Cette pointure vous va bien.

   That size looks right on you.

   Cette

   this/that

   pointure

   size

   vous va

   suits you

   bien

   well; right

   More detail

   Cette means “this/that” here and agrees with the feminine singular noun pointure. The form is not masculine ce; compare ce modèle (“this model”) with cette pointure (“this size”). pointure is a footwear size, especially a shoe size. It is feminine: une pointure. For example, Quelle est votre pointure ? means “What is your shoe size?” vous va uses va, the third-person singular present form of aller (“to go”), in the construction aller à quelqu’un, meaning that something suits or fits someone. vous identifies the person being suited; it can address one person formally or several people. For example, Cette veste vous va means “This jacket suits you.” bien means “well” here and strengthens the positive assessment: the size suits the person well. It is different from bon, an adjective that agrees with a noun; bien is an adverb. Together, Cette pointure means “this size,” and vous va bien says that it suits you well. The complete utterance is therefore “That size looks right on you.”