Task progress and team updates | Learn French in English

Sentence explanations

1. Comment avance la tâche ?

   How is the task going?

   Comment

   how

   avance

   is going / progresses

   tâche

   task

   More detail

   Comment asks about the manner or state of progress: “how.” It is also used in questions such as Comment va le projet ? (“How is the project going?”). It does not itself identify a person or thing being asked about. avance is the third-person singular present form of avancer, “to advance” or “to progress.” In this sentence, avancer describes the task’s progress rather than physical movement. The present tense asks about its current state. Compare La tâche avance. (“The task is progressing.”) and Les tâches avancent. (“The tasks are progressing.”): the verb changes from avance to avancent with a plural subject. tâche means “task” here. Its base form is the noun tâche; la marks it as a feminine singular noun phrase. The word tâche with a circumflex accent means “task,” while tache without the accent is a different word, commonly meaning “stain” or “spot.” Together, Comment + avance asks about the progress of la tâche: “How is the task going?” The word order places the verb before the noun subject in this question, while the corresponding statement is La tâche avance.

2. La plus grande partie est faite.

   Most of it is done.

   La plus grande

   the largest

   partie

   part

   est faite

   is done

   More detail

   La plus grande means “the largest.” grand is the adjective’s base form; grande is its feminine singular form, agreeing with partie. The pattern la plus grande is the superlative, while plus grande without this definite article commonly expresses “larger” in a comparison. partie is a feminine noun meaning “part” or “portion.” The reusable phrase la plus grande partie means “the largest part” and, when referring to an understood whole as here, naturally means “most of it.” est faite means “is done.” est is the third-person singular present form of être (“to be”), and faite is the feminine singular past participle of faire (“to do” or “make”). Here, être with faite expresses the completed state of the part; it can be understood as a passive or resultative construction. faite agrees with the feminine singular subject partie. Example: La première partie est faite. — “The first part is done.” Together, La plus grande partie and est faite produce “Most of it is done.”

3. Qu'est-ce qu'il faut vérifier ?

   What needs checking?

   Qu'est-ce qu'

   what ...?

   il faut

   it is necessary

   vérifier

   check; verify

   More detail

   Qu'est-ce qu' is part of the French interrogative construction Qu'est-ce que ... ?, used to ask what something is or what is involved. In this sentence, qu' is the elided form of que before il; separately, Qu'est contains the elision of que before est. The reusable pattern Qu'est-ce qu'il faut + infinitive ? asks what needs to be done or checked. For example, Qu'est-ce qu'il faut préparer ? means “What needs to be prepared?” il faut comes from the impersonal verb falloir, meaning “to be necessary” or “to be needed.” In the present tense, faut is the form used here, and il is grammatical rather than a particular person. Il faut vérifier les chiffres. means “The numbers need to be checked” or “It is necessary to check the numbers.” vérifier means “to check” or “to verify.” It is an infinitive here, following il faut, so the sentence does not specify who performs the checking. With a stated object, Il faut vérifier la date. means “The date needs to be checked.” Together, Qu'est-ce qu' + il faut + vérifier asks what is required to undergo checking. Thus Qu'est-ce qu'il faut vérifier ? means “What needs checking?”

4. Je dois vérifier les chiffres.

   I need to check the numbers.

   Je dois

   I need to

   vérifier

   check

   chiffres

   numbers

   More detail

   Je dois means “I need to” here. Je is the first-person singular subject pronoun, and dois is the present-tense form of devoir for je. Devoir expresses obligation or necessity; with an infinitive, the pattern is devoir + infinitive: Je dois partir. — “I have to leave.” vérifier is an infinitive meaning “to check” or “to verify.” After dois, it stays in the infinitive rather than being put in a second conjugated form. The same pattern works with other subjects: Nous devons vérifier. — “We have to check.” chiffres means “numbers” in this sentence. It is the plural form of the noun chiffre; the plural article les appears immediately before it in the full utterance. Un chiffre means “a number/digit,” while les chiffres refers to the numbers as a defined set in this context. Together, Je dois + vérifier expresses the speaker’s necessity, and les chiffres identifies what must be checked. The complete meaning is: “I need to check the numbers.”

5. Est-ce que nous sommes dans les temps ?

   Are we on schedule?

   Est-ce que

   question opener

   nous

   we

   sommes

   are

   dans les temps

   on schedule

   More detail

   Est-ce que turns the following statement into a yes/no question. It is a reusable neutral question opener: Est-ce que + subject + verb ... ? For example, Est-ce que tu viens ? means “Are you coming?” nous means “we” and refers to the speaker together with at least one other participant. It is the subject here. In French, the subject pronoun normally appears before the verb: nous sommes (“we are”). sommes is the present-tense form of être (“to be”) for nous: nous sommes. Other present forms include je suis, tu es, il/elle est, vous êtes, and ils/elles sont. In this sentence, sommes expresses the current situation, not a separate action. dans les temps is a fixed expression meaning “on schedule” or “within the planned time.” The plural noun temps is part of this expression; it is not the ordinary location meaning of dans (“in”). For example, Nous sommes dans les temps. means “We are on schedule.” Together, Est-ce que makes the statement nous sommes dans les temps into a question: “Are we on schedule?” The utterance asks whether the shared activity is still progressing within the planned time.

6. Nous pouvons finir cet après-midi.

   We can finish this afternoon.

   Nous

   we

   pouvons

   can

   finir

   finish

   cet après-midi

   this afternoon

   More detail

   Nous means “we”: it is the first-person plural subject pronoun. It identifies the speaker together with at least one other participant, without specifying who the others are. In less formal spoken French, on can often express “we,” but nous is the form used here. pouvons is a form of pouvoir, “to be able to” or “can.” It is present tense, first-person plural: nous pouvons. Pouvoir is commonly followed by an infinitive to express ability or possibility: Nous pouvons partir means “We can leave.” The form pouvons itself expresses “can” with nous; it is not the form used with every subject. finir means “to finish.” It is an infinitive, the base form used after pouvoir: pouvons finir. The infinitive does not show the subject’s person or number here; pouvons carries that information. For example, Nous pouvons commencer means “We can start.” cet après-midi means “this afternoon.” Cet is the singular demonstrative determiner used before a masculine singular noun beginning with a vowel sound, and après-midi is the noun for “afternoon.” Together, the phrase points to the afternoon of the relevant day. For another time reference, cet après-midi is “this afternoon,” while demain après-midi is “tomorrow afternoon.” Together, Nous pouvons finir means “We can finish,” and cet après-midi specifies when: “this afternoon.” The complete utterance is therefore “We can finish this afternoon.” It presents finishing as possible or feasible for the speaker and the other participant(s), with the intended time being this afternoon.

7. Est-ce qu'on doit informer l'équipe ?

   Should we update the team?

   Est-ce qu'on

   Do we…?

   doit

   must; should

   informer

   inform; update

   l'équipe

   the team

   More detail

   Est-ce qu'on is a reusable way to form a yes/no question. Est-ce que marks the question, and que becomes qu' before the vowel sound in on. Here on means “we,” as confirmed by the fixed translation and the surrounding context. Example: Est-ce qu'on commence ? — “Are we starting?” doit is the present-tense form of devoir used with on (grammatically third-person singular). The verb devoir can express obligation (“must”) or, as here, a recommendation or expected action (“should”). Example: On doit partir. — “We must leave” or “We should leave,” depending on context. The form doit belongs to devoir, not to the following verb. informer is an infinitive meaning “to inform” or, in this context, “to update.” After devoir, the next verb stays in the infinitive: On doit informer... — “We should inform...” Example: Je dois informer Marie. — “I have to inform Marie.” l'équipe means “the team.” It is la plus équipe, with the vowel of la elided to l'; équipe is feminine and singular, but the noun’s gender is not a numerical claim. The definite article presents the team as identifiable in the situation. Example: L'équipe arrive. — “The team is arriving.” Together, Est-ce qu'on doit informer l'équipe ? asks whether we should update the team. The question marker comes first, on is the subject, doit informer expresses the proposed or expected action, and l'équipe is the group receiving the information.

8. On les informe après avoir fini cette partie.

   Let's update them after we finish this part.

   On

   we

   les

   them

   informe

   updates

   après avoir fini

   after finishing

   cette

   this

   partie

   part

   More detail

   On is the subject pronoun used here for “we.” In this meaning, it normally takes a third-person singular verb: on informe, not a plural form. The pronoun itself is not the same as the more formal subject pronoun nous, although both can refer to a group. les is a direct-object pronoun meaning “them” here. It marks a plural object, but it does not show whether the people or things referred to are masculine or feminine. A singular object would use le or la instead. In the sentence, on performs the informing/updating and les receives that action. informe is the present indicative form of informer, “to inform” or, in this context, “to update.” Its form is third-person singular because the subject is on: j’informe, tu informes, il/elle/on informe, nous informons. The final e is part of this observed verb form; it is not an ending on les. après avoir fini means “after having finished” or more naturally “after finishing.” avoir fini is a past infinitive: the infinitive avoir combines with the past participle fini of finir. This construction places the finishing before the informing. With après avoir + past participle, the understood subject is normally the same as the subject of the main clause, so here it is on: “after we finish this part.” cette means “this” and is the feminine singular form of the demonstrative determiner. It agrees with the noun it determines, not with the people represented by les. Its masculine singular counterpart is ce or cet in the relevant environments, while the plural form is ces. partie is the feminine singular noun “part” or “section.” In cette partie, the determiner and noun agree in feminine singular form. The same word can have other meanings in other contexts, such as “party” or “game,” but “part/section” is the intended meaning here. Together, on les informe gives “we update them,” and après avoir fini cette partie adds the time condition “after we finish this part.” The complete intended meaning is: “Let’s update them after we finish this part.” The French wording uses a present-tense statement with on; the fixed English translation presents that statement as a proposal.