Sign up for a walking event | Learn French in English

Sentence explanations

1. Combien coûte l'inscription à la marche ?

   How much does it cost to join the walking event?

   Combien

   how much

   coûte

   costs

   l'inscription

   registration

   à la marche

   for the walking event

   More detail

   Combien asks for an amount: “how much” here. It is used with a verb when the answer is expected to be a price or another quantity. For example: Combien coûte ce billet ? — “How much does this ticket cost?” coûte is the third-person singular present form of coûter, “to cost.” The subject is singular, l'inscription, so the verb is singular. The present tense asks about the current price. The pattern Combien coûte + singular subject ? is a reusable way to ask the price of something. l'inscription means “the registration” or “the sign-up.” It is formed from the feminine noun inscription with the definite article la; before a vowel, la becomes l'. The article is definite here because the question concerns the particular registration connected with the event. The noun can also be used in other contexts, such as L'inscription est ouverte. — “Registration is open.” à la marche identifies what the registration is for: the walking event. à is followed here by the feminine singular article la. Together, à la remains two written words. In this sentence, the phrase connects the registration with participation in the walk; it is not a separate statement about walking in general. The whole question follows the pattern Combien coûte + [thing] + à + [event/activity] ? It literally asks how much the registration for the walk costs, producing the intended meaning: “How much does it cost to join the walking event?”

2. C'est gratuit pour les habitants de la ville.

   It is free for city residents.

   C'est

   it is

   gratuit

   free

   habitants

   residents

   ville

   city

   More detail

   C'est is the common contraction of ce + est, where est is the third-person singular present form of être (“to be”). In this sentence, ce is the neutral subject of the statement; the fixed translation presents the event or registration as free, without identifying a separate noun as the subject. The pattern C'est + adjective is widely reusable: C'est simple. = “It is simple.” gratuit means “free of charge” here. It is the masculine singular form of the adjective gratuit; its feminine singular form is gratuite, and its plural forms are gratuits and gratuites. In C'est gratuit, the adjective describes the thing being offered, rather than the residents. This meaning is different from “free” in the sense of “available” or “not busy,” which may require another French word depending on the context. habitants is the plural of the noun habitant, “resident” or “inhabitant.” The ending -s marks the written plural here; the singular is un habitant, and the plural is des habitants. The noun refers to people who live in a place. Example: Les habitants arrivent. = “The residents are arriving.” ville means “city” or “town” in this context. It is a feminine singular noun: une ville. In de la ville, de (“of/from”) combines with the feminine singular definite article la, giving the meaning “of the city.” The phrase de la ville identifies the place associated with the residents; it does not itself mean “residents.” pour les habitants de la ville means “for the residents of the city.” Here pour introduces the group receiving or benefiting from the stated condition, and les is the definite plural article before habitants. French uses les for a definite plural group; it does not by itself state a numerical count. Together, C'est gratuit says “It is free,” and pour les habitants de la ville limits that offer to the city’s residents. The complete utterance therefore means: “It is free for city residents.”

3. Nous voudrions nous inscrire ensemble.

   We would like to sign up together.

   voudrions

   would like

   nous inscrire

   to sign up

   ensemble

   together

   More detail

   voudrions means “would like” here. It is the first-person plural conditional form of vouloir (“to want”): nous voulons = “we want,” while nous voudrions = “we would like.” The conditional makes the request or preference more polite and less direct. The ending -ions identifies the “we” form in this verb form; it is not an infinitive. nous inscrire means “to sign up.” inscrire is the infinitive “to register/sign up,” and nous inscrire uses the reflexive pronoun nous with that infinitive: literally, “to register ourselves.” In this sentence, nous refers to the speakers, as confirmed by “we” in the fixed translation. With vouloir, a conjugated form is followed by an infinitive: Je voudrais m’inscrire = “I would like to sign up.” ensemble means “together.” It describes the speakers’ shared action: they want to sign up together, not separately. The word does not change to agree with the speakers’ number or gender. Together, Nous voudrions nous inscrire ensemble. means “We would like to sign up together.” The structure is nous voudrions (“we would like”) + nous inscrire (“to sign up”) + ensemble (“together”).

4. Veuillez écrire vos noms, vos adresses et vos numéros de téléphone sur ce formulaire.

   Please write your names, addresses, and phone numbers on this form.

   Veuillez

   please

   écrire

   write

   noms

   names

   adresses

   addresses

   numéros

   numbers

   téléphone

   telephone

   sur

   on

   ce

   this

   formulaire

   form

   More detail

   Veuillez is the polite/formal imperative of vouloir addressed to vous. In the fixed sentence, veuillez + infinitive is a standard way to say “please do …”: it makes a request, not a statement that someone wants something. Example: Veuillez attendre. — “Please wait.” écrire is the infinitive “to write.” It follows veuillez in this request pattern. The infinitive does not show who should write; veuillez supplies the formal or plural vous addressee. Example: Veuillez lire. — “Please read.” noms is the plural of the masculine noun nom, “name.” Here it refers to names that the addressees are asked to provide. The possessive word vos before it means “your” and is plural because it accompanies a plural noun; it does not by itself state how many names there are. Example: Écrivez vos noms. — “Write your names.” adresses is the plural of adresse, “address.” In this sentence it names another kind of information to be written. Example: Voici nos adresses. — “Here are our addresses.” numéros is the plural of numéro, “number.” In numéros de téléphone, it forms the ordinary expression “telephone numbers”: de téléphone specifies what kind of numbers they are. Example: J’ai changé de numéro de téléphone. — “I changed my phone number.” téléphone is the noun “telephone” in the expression numéro de téléphone. The compound means a number used for contacting someone by telephone; it is not the noun being pluralized in the observed phrase. The plural marking is on numéros, whose singular is numéro. sur means “on” here and introduces the surface or document where the information should be written. Example: Écrivez votre nom sur la ligne. — “Write your name on the line.” ce is a masculine singular demonstrative meaning “this” before the masculine noun formulaire. Its related forms include cette with a feminine singular noun and ces with a plural noun. Example: ce document — “this document”; cette page — “this page.” formulaire is the masculine noun “form.” The phrase ce formulaire therefore means “this form”: ce agrees with the singular masculine noun formulaire. Together, Veuillez écrire gives the polite request “please write.” The requested items are vos noms, vos adresses, and vos numéros de téléphone; et joins the list, and sur ce formulaire specifies where to write them. Thus the complete utterance means: “Please write your names, addresses, and phone numbers on this form.”

5. Est-ce que nous devons aussi ajouter une adresse e-mail ?

   Should we add an email address too?

   Est-ce que

   question marker

   nous devons

   we must / need to

   aussi

   also; too

   ajouter

   to add

   adresse e-mail

   email address

   More detail

   Est-ce que introduces a yes-or-no question. It does not add a separate lexical meaning such as “what”; it marks the following statement as a question. Pattern: Est-ce que + subject + verb ... ? Example: Est-ce que vous comprenez ? — “Do you understand?” nous devons uses the verb devoir in the present tense with nous. Here it expresses what “we” need to or are expected to do. The useful form chain is je dois, nous devons, ils doivent; these are different present-tense forms of the same verb. The following verb stays in the infinitive: Nous devons attendre. — “We must wait.” aussi means “also” or “too” here. It adds this action to something already under consideration. Its position can vary, but in this sentence it comes before the infinitive phrase ajouter une adresse e-mail. ajouter is the infinitive “to add.” After a conjugated form of devoir, the infinitive names the action that is required or needed: Elle doit ajouter son nom. — “She must add her name.” The verb ajouter is distinct from donner (“to give”): adding something means including it with what is already there. adresse e-mail means “email address.” adresse is a feminine noun, so the indefinite phrase uses une: une adresse e-mail. The noun adresse can also refer to a physical or postal address, while e-mail specifies the electronic kind. Example: J’ai une nouvelle adresse e-mail. — “I have a new email address.” Together, nous devons ajouter une adresse e-mail means “we need to add an email address.” The initial Est-ce que turns that statement into a yes-or-no question, and aussi adds the meaning “too”: “Should we add an email address too?”

6. Cette partie est facultative.

   That part is optional.

   Cette

   this (feminine singular)

   partie

   part

   facultative

   optional

   More detail

   Cette is the feminine singular form of the demonstrative determiner meaning “this” or “that.” It agrees with the noun it introduces, so cette partie means “this part” here. Compare ce before a masculine singular noun and ces with plural nouns; the choice depends on the noun’s grammatical gender and number, not on the physical distance alone. partie is a feminine singular noun meaning “part” here, with the context supporting the sense of a section or component. Its plural is parties. The determiner and adjective around it show its feminine singular form: cette partie facultative. facultative is the feminine singular form of the adjective facultatif, meaning “optional” or “not required.” The adjective agrees with partie; the masculine singular form is facultatif, and the plural forms are facultatifs (masculine) and facultatives (feminine). A useful contrast is obligatoire, “mandatory.” Example: Cette étape est facultative. — “This step is optional.” Together, Cette partie identifies one part, and est facultative states that this part is optional. The complete utterance means “That part is optional.”

7. Qu'est-ce que vous allez envoyer si nous en ajoutons une ?

   What will you send if we add one?

   Qu'est-ce que

   what

   vous allez

   you are going to

   envoyer

   send

   si

   if

   nous

   we

   en

   one of them

   ajoutons

   add

   une

   one

   More detail

   Qu'est-ce que is the standard French question phrase for asking about a thing: “what”. It introduces the thing that will be sent. In a reusable pattern, Qu'est-ce que ... ? asks “What ...?” vous allez combines vous (“you”, singular formal or plural) with allez, the present-tense form of aller for vous. Together with the following infinitive, it forms the near future: vous allez + infinitive = “you are going to ...”. The form allez agrees with the subject vous; it is not the future-tense form of envoyer. envoyer is the infinitive “to send”. After allez, it remains in the infinitive. The useful pattern is aller + infinitive, as in Nous allons partir. — “We are going to leave.” si introduces the condition “if”. Here it connects the condition to the main question: the sending is considered in the event that the addition happens. French normally uses the present tense after si for this kind of real or possible condition. nous means “we” and is the subject of the conditional clause. It is separate from vous: vous is the person or people being asked about, while nous is the group that may add something. en is a pronoun meaning “of it”, “of them”, or, in this construction, “one of them”/“some of it” depending on the intended noun. It replaces a previously understood item or quantity rather than naming that item again. Its exact referent is not specified here. ajoutons is the present-tense first-person plural form of ajouter, “to add”: nous ajoutons = “we add” or “we are adding”. The ending identifies nous; it is the form used after si in this condition. For example, Si nous ajoutons une option... means “If we add an option...” une is the feminine singular form of the indefinite article and, here, stands substantively for “one” feminine item. It agrees with the understood item that is being added. The phrase en ... une is a common way to say “add one” when the item itself has already been established or is recoverable from context; this sentence does not name which item it is. Together, Qu'est-ce que vous allez envoyer asks “What are you going to send?”, and si nous en ajoutons une specifies the condition “if we add one.” The complete meaning is: “What will you send if we add one?” The near-future construction presents the sending as upcoming, while the si clause states the condition for considering it.

8. Nous enverrons le programme du prochain événement.

   We will send the schedule for the next event.

   Nous

   we

   enverrons

   will send

   programme

   schedule

   prochain

   next

   événement

   event

   More detail

   Nous means “we” here: the speaker includes themself with at least one other person. It is the first-person plural subject pronoun. The matching verb form is enverrons, not a singular form such as enverrai (“I will send”). enverrons is the future form of envoyer (“to send”) for nous: nous enverrons = “we will send.” The future tense presents the sending as a future action. Example: Nous enverrons le fichier demain. — “We will send the file tomorrow.” programme means “schedule” in this sentence. It is a masculine singular noun; in another context, programme can also mean a program or plan, so the intended sense comes from the fixed translation and context. Example: Le programme est prêt. — “The schedule is ready.” prochain means “next” here. It is a descriptive adjective modifying événement, so it is masculine singular: prochain événement. Its feminine singular form is prochaine, as in la prochaine réunion (“the next meeting”). événement means “event.” It is a masculine singular noun. The accent marks in événement are part of its spelling. Example: L'événement commence demain. — “The event starts tomorrow.” The sequence du prochain événement means “for/of the next event” in the noun phrase le programme du prochain événement. Here du is the contraction of de and le; it links the schedule to the event. Thus le programme is “the schedule,” and du prochain événement specifies which event it concerns. Putting the parts together, Nous enverrons gives the future action and subject, while le programme du prochain événement gives what will be sent: “We will send the schedule for the next event.”