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Sentence explanations

1. Que dois-je faire pour les devoirs ?

   What should I do for homework?

   Que

   what

   dois-je

   should I

   faire

   do

   pour

   for

   devoirs

   homework

   More detail

   Que means “what” here: it asks for the thing or action sought. It is a question word, not the relative “that” found in sentences such as le livre que je lis (“the book that I am reading”). dois-je combines dois, the first-person singular present form of devoir (“to have to; should”), with the subject pronoun je after the verb. In a direct question, French can use this subject–verb inversion: Dois-je partir ? means “Should I leave?” The form dois is used with je; other subjects use other forms, for example doit-il (“should he?”). Here, the fixed translation gives the intended advice-seeking meaning “should I,” rather than a simple statement of obligation. faire is the infinitive “to do” or “to make.” After devoir, the following verb stays in the infinitive: Je dois faire... means “I have to/should do...” and Dois-je faire... ? means “Should I do...?” Example: Que dois-tu faire ? — “What do you have to do?” pour introduces the purpose or area concerned here: “for.” It commonly links an action with the person, purpose, or activity it serves. In this sentence, it connects faire with the homework. les devoirs means “the homework” in this context. Devoir can also be a verb meaning “to have to,” but devoirs here is the plural noun, written with -s; the article les confirms the noun phrase. French commonly uses this plural noun for schoolwork, while English normally uses uncountable “homework” without a plural ending. Example: J’ai fini mes devoirs. — “I finished my homework.” Together, Que asks what action is needed, dois-je faire asks what the speaker should do, and pour les devoirs specifies that the purpose is homework. The whole utterance therefore means “What should I do for homework?”

2. Commence par faire cet exercice.

   Start by completing this exercise.

   Commence par

   start by

   faire

   do; complete

   cet

   this

   exercice

   exercise

   More detail

   Commence par means “start by” here. Commence is the second-person singular imperative of commencer (“to start”); the subject is understood as “you.” The reusable pattern is Commence par + infinitive: “Start by …” For example: Commence par lire. — “Start by reading.” faire is the infinitive of faire, “to do” or “to make.” In this sentence, with exercice, it means “to complete/do” the exercise. After commencer par, the following action is expressed with an infinitive: commencer par faire — “start by doing.” cet means “this” before a masculine singular noun beginning with a vowel sound. Its feminine singular counterpart is cette, as in cette page — “this page.” The form ce is also used with many masculine singular nouns, while cet is the form used in this phonetic environment. exercice is a masculine singular noun meaning “exercise.” Its plural is exercices — “exercises.” The combination cet exercice means “this exercise”; cet agrees with the noun in gender and number, while its choice is also shaped by the noun’s initial sound. Together, Commence par faire cet exercice. means “Start by completing this exercise.” It directs the listener to begin with the action of doing the specified exercise.

3. Quelle page dois-je utiliser ?

   Which page should I use?

   Quelle

   which

   page

   page

   dois-je

   should I

   utiliser

   use

   More detail

   Quelle means “which” here and agrees with the feminine singular noun page: quelle page. French interrogative determiners change with the noun: quel (masculine singular), quelle (feminine singular), quels (masculine plural), and quelles (feminine plural). Example: Quelle réponse choisis-tu ? — “Which answer are you choosing?” page is the noun “page.” Its usual article forms include une page (“a page”), la page (“the page”), and les pages (“the pages”). In this sentence, it is the thing being selected for use. dois-je combines the first-person singular present form dois of devoir (“to have to; must”) with the subject pronoun je through subject–verb inversion. In this question, devoir expresses what the speaker should use, so the natural translation is “should I,” rather than a strict obligation. Compare the ordinary statement Je dois utiliser cette page. — “I have to use this page.” In a question, Dois-je utiliser cette page ? is a formal or written way to ask “Should I use this page?” utiliser is the infinitive “to use.” After a conjugated form of devoir, the following verb stays in the infinitive: je dois utiliser, “I should/ have to use.” Example: Dois-je attendre ? — “Should I wait?” Together, Quelle page asks the choice of page, dois-je asks what the speaker should do, and utiliser identifies the action. The complete utterance is therefore: “Which page should I use?”

4. Utilise la page avec les questions courtes.

   Use the page with the short questions.

   Utilise

   use

   page

   page

   avec

   with

   questions

   questions

   courtes

   short

   More detail

   Utilise is the second-person singular imperative of utiliser, “to use.” It gives a direct instruction to one person. With a regular -er verb, the familiar singular imperative uses the verb form without the usual final -s: utiliser → tu utilises → utilise. Example: Utilise ce livre. — “Use this book.” page is a feminine noun meaning “page.” Its singular and plural forms are page and pages; the definite article marks the noun phrase here as la page, “the page.” avec means “with” and introduces an accompanying item or a feature associated with something. Here it links the page to the questions: la page avec les questions — “the page with the questions.” questions is the plural of the feminine noun question, meaning “question.” The singular/plural contrast is une question / des questions or la question / les questions. The plural article les and the final -s on questions show that more than one question is meant. courtes is the feminine plural form of the adjective court, meaning “short.” It agrees with the feminine plural noun questions: court (masculine singular), courte (feminine singular), courts (masculine plural), courtes (feminine plural). Example: des réponses courtes — “short answers.” Together, la page avec les questions courtes means “the page with the short questions.” The adjective courtes describes questions, not page. The imperative Utilise then makes the complete utterance mean: “Use the page with the short questions.”

5. Quand dois-je le finir ?

   When should I finish it?

   Quand

   when

   dois-je

   should I

   le

   it

   finir

   finish

   More detail

   Quand means “when” and asks about the time of an event. It can introduce a direct question, as here, or a subordinate clause: Quand arrives-tu ? — “When are you arriving?” dois-je combines the present-tense form dois of devoir (“to have to; must”) with the subject pronoun je (“I”). In this question, devoir expresses the intended idea “should,” or what is advisable. The inversion dois-je is a formal or written way to form a question; the same question can also be phrased conversationally as Quand est-ce que je dois le finir ? — “When should I finish it?” Here dois is specifically the first-person singular form; it is not the infinitive devoir. le is a masculine singular direct-object pronoun meaning “it” in this sentence. It stands for the thing to be finished, while its specific identity is not stated in the fixed sentence. As a direct object pronoun, it normally comes before the conjugated verb: Je le finis. — “I finish it.” finir means “to finish.” It is in the infinitive because it follows the conjugated verb dois: je dois finir means “I have to / should finish.” The infinitive is also used after other forms of devoir, as in Ils doivent finir — “They must finish.” Together, Quand asks for the time, dois-je asks what is advisable for the speaker, and le finir expresses finishing the already understood masculine-singular object. The complete utterance therefore means “When should I finish it?” The question leaves the exact time open; it asks the addressee to provide or clarify it.`

6. Finis-le avant le cours.

   Finish it before class.

   Finis-le

   Finish it

   avant

   before

   cours

   class

   More detail

   Finis-le combines the verb finis with the pronoun le. Finis is the second-person singular imperative of finir (“to finish”): finir → tu finis (present) and finis ! (command). In this sentence, le is an unstressed direct-object pronoun meaning “it”; the hyphen is used with an affirmative imperative. Compare the negative command Ne le finis pas (“Don’t finish it”), where the pronoun comes before the verb and is not hyphenated. avant means “before” and introduces the time reference that follows. A reusable pattern is avant + noun: avant le départ means “before the departure.” cours is the noun meaning “class” here. Its base form is cours; it is masculine singular in le cours. The same written form can also be plural after les, as in les cours (“the classes”); the article shows the number in that contrast. Together, avant le cours means “before class,” and the whole utterance is the command “Finish it before class.”

7. Peux-tu regarder mes réponses plus tard ?

   Can you look at my answers later?

   Peux-tu

   Can you

   regarder

   look at

   mes

   my

   réponses

   answers

   plus tard

   later

   More detail

   Peux-tu is an inverted question form meaning “Can you…?” It combines the second-person singular present form peux of pouvoir (“can/be able to”) with tu (“you”). In a direct question, French commonly places the verb before the subject pronoun: Peux-tu venir ? = “Can you come?” The verb is pouvoir; its form changes with the subject, for example je peux and il peut. Here, the question asks whether the addressee is able or willing to perform the action, without stating a reason or deadline beyond the time expression that follows. regarder is the infinitive “to look at.” After peux-tu, the following verb stays in the infinitive: Peux-tu regarder… ? = “Can you look at…?” The infinitive does not itself mark the person; peux carries the second-person marking. For example, Je peux regarder le document. = “I can look at the document.” In this sentence, regarder takes mes réponses as what is being looked at. mes means “my” before a plural noun. It agrees with the possessed noun in number, not with the owner: mon is used before a singular masculine noun, ma before a singular feminine noun, and mes before a plural noun. For example, mes livres means “my books.” The form mes does not by itself identify the owner beyond the first-person possessive meaning; here it marks the answers as belonging to the speaker. réponses means “answers.” Its singular base form is réponse; the final -s marks the plural in this written form: une réponse = “one answer,” des réponses = “answers.” The noun is feminine in French, but that gender is not what produces mes here: the plural number is the relevant agreement condition. In the fixed sentence, the answers are the object of regarder. plus tard is the time expression “later,” referring to a time after now or after the current point. It modifies the requested action, so the request is to look at the answers later rather than necessarily immediately. For example, Je le ferai plus tard. = “I will do it later.” Together, Peux-tu regarder forms a polite, direct request framed as a yes/no ability question; mes réponses specifies that the object is the speaker’s answers; and plus tard places the looking at a later time. The complete utterance therefore means: “Can you look at my answers later?”

8. Apporte-les-moi après avoir fini.

   Bring them to me after you finish.

   Apporte

   bring

   les

   them

   moi

   me

   après avoir fini

   after finishing

   More detail

   Apporte is the second-person singular imperative of apporter (“to bring”). It gives a direct instruction to one person; the subject pronoun is normally omitted in a French affirmative imperative. Example: Apporte le livre. — “Bring the book.” les is the plural direct-object pronoun, meaning “them” here. It replaces a plural thing or group that is understood from context; French les does not distinguish masculine from feminine. In this sentence it comes after the affirmative imperative and is attached to it with a hyphen: Apporte-les.... moi is the stressed form of the first-person singular pronoun used here as the recipient of the bringing: “to me.” In an affirmative imperative, an indirect-object pronoun is placed after the verb, so French uses moi rather than the unstressed pre-verbal form me. Example: Donne-moi le livre. — “Give me the book.” après avoir fini means “after finishing” or, more literally, “after having finished.” après introduces the time relation; avoir fini is the perfect infinitive, formed from infinitive avoir plus the past participle fini of finir (“to finish”). The understood subject of this infinitive is the person being instructed, so the timing is “after you finish.” Example: Après avoir fini, ferme la porte. — “After finishing, close the door.” Together, Apporte-les-moi means “Bring them to me,” and après avoir fini specifies when to do it. The complete utterance is: “Bring them to me after you finish.”