Checking a bag before leaving | Learn French in English

Sentence explanations

1. On vérifie que mon sac est prêt ?

   Can we make sure my bag is ready?

   On

   we

   vérifie

   checks; makes sure

   mon

   my

   sac

   bag

   prêt

   ready

   More detail

   On is a subject pronoun. In this utterance, the fixed translation identifies it as “we,” so On vérifie… ? proposes checking something together. In other contexts, on can have other meanings, but that does not change its form here. vérifie is the present-tense form of vérifier (“to check,” “to make sure”), used with the subject on. The pattern On vérifie que… ? can be reused to ask whether the speakers should check that something is true. For example: On vérifie que la porte est fermée ? — “Shall we check that the door is closed?” mon is the possessive determiner meaning “my” before the singular masculine noun sac. It agrees with the possessed noun, not with the owner: mon sac is masculine singular, while ma table is used with the feminine singular noun table. mon does not itself state a numeric quantity. sac is a masculine noun meaning “bag.” Its plural is sacs; the written plural adds -s, which is normally silent. mon sac therefore means “my bag.” prêt is an adjective meaning “ready” here. It is masculine singular because it describes the masculine singular noun sac. The feminine singular form is prête; the plural forms are prêts for masculine or mixed groups and prêtes for feminine groups. The reusable pattern is être prêt (“to be ready”), so est prêt means “is ready.” Together, On vérifie proposes a check, que introduces the condition being checked, and mon sac est prêt states that condition. The whole utterance therefore means “Can we make sure my bag is ready?” The question intonation turns the statement into this proposal.

2. Mets d'abord les choses importantes sur la table.

   Put the important things on the table first.

   Mets

   put

   d'abord

   first

   choses

   things

   importantes

   important

   sur

   on

   table

   table

   More detail

   Mets is the imperative form of mettre (“to put” or “to place”) for an understood singular tu. The imperative gives a direct instruction. Compare Mettez for a plural or formal addressee and Mettons for “let’s put.” Example: Mets le livre ici. — “Put the book here.” d'abord means “first” or “to begin with.” It marks the order of the action: the important things should be put on the table before other things. Example: Lis d'abord cette page. — “Read this page first.” choses is the plural of the feminine noun chose, “thing.” The plural article and adjective around it also show that more than one thing is meant. Example: Ces choses sont utiles. — “These things are useful.” importantes is the feminine plural form of the adjective important, “important.” It agrees with the feminine plural noun choses: important (masculine singular), importante (feminine singular), importants (masculine plural), importantes (feminine plural). Here it describes which things are to be put on the table. sur is a preposition meaning “on” when something is positioned on a surface. It introduces the destination or location sur la table. Example: Le téléphone est sur la table. — “The phone is on the table.” table is the feminine noun table, “table.” In la table, la is the feminine singular definite article, referring to the table understood in this situation. Example: La tasse est sur la table. — “The cup is on the table.” Together, Mets ... sur la table forms the instruction “put ... on the table.” The object is les choses importantes, “the important things,” and d'abord specifies that this should happen first. The complete utterance therefore means: “Put the important things on the table first.”

3. Mon téléphone est dans la poche avant.

   My phone is in the front pocket.

   téléphone

   phone

   est dans

   is in

   poche

   pocket

   avant

   front

   More detail

   téléphone means “phone” here. Its base form is téléphone; the plural is téléphones. It is a masculine noun, which helps explain the possessive form mon in mon téléphone: mon agrees with this singular masculine noun. est dans combines the present form est of être (“is”) with dans (“in”). Est is the third-person singular form, used here because the subject is singular. The reusable pattern is [thing] est dans [place] — “[thing] is in [place].” For example: Le livre est dans le sac. — “The book is in the bag.” poche means “pocket.” Its base form is poche, and it is a feminine noun, so the phrase uses la poche. The plural is poches; for example, les poches means “the pockets.” avant means “front” in la poche avant. Here it is an adjective placed after the noun, specifying which pocket: the front one. In this use, avant is invariable, so it does not change to match masculine or feminine nouns. For example, le siège avant means “the front seat.” Putting the parts together, Mon téléphone is the singular subject, est dans states its location, and la poche avant identifies that location as the front pocket. The complete meaning is: “My phone is in the front pocket.”

4. Où as-tu mis tes clés ?

   Where did you put your keys?

   Où

   where

   as-tu

   have you…?

   mis

   put

   tes

   your

   clés

   keys

   More detail

   Où means “where” and asks about a place. It normally appears at the beginning of a direct question: Où est le livre ? means “Where is the book?” as-tu combines the auxiliary as (“have”) with the subject pronoun tu (“you”). In this question, inversion (as-tu) marks a relatively standard or careful direct-question form. The same auxiliary can introduce the French passé composé: As-tu compris ? means “Did you understand?” mis is the past participle of mettre, “to put” or “to place.” The useful form chain is mettre → mis; mis is irregular, so it is not formed by simply adding a regular past-participle ending. Here, as + mis forms the passé composé, referring to the completed act of putting something somewhere. For example, J’ai mis le livre sur la table. means “I put the book on the table.” tes means “your” for something belonging to the person addressed when the possessed nouns are plural. It does not itself state how many plural objects there are beyond the plural marking of the noun it accompanies. Compare ta clé (“your key,” singular) with tes clés (“your keys,” plural). The possessive form agrees with the possessed noun in number; tes is used with plural nouns of either grammatical gender. clés means “keys” here. Its singular form is clé, and the plural is formed in writing as clés. The phrase tes clés therefore means “your keys.” Together, Où asks for the location, while as-tu mis asks about the completed act of placing, and tes clés identifies the object belonging to the person addressed. The whole utterance means “Where did you put your keys?”

5. Elles sont à côté de mon téléphone.

   They are next to my phone.

   Elles

   they (feminine plural)

   sont

   are

   à côté de

   next to

   téléphone

   phone

   More detail

   Elles is the feminine-plural subject pronoun, meaning “they” for a group referred to with feminine-plural agreement. The supplied translation confirms the plural “they,” but it does not identify exactly which people or things they are. Compare elle “she” or “it” for a feminine singular referent and elles for feminine plural. Example: Elles arrivent. — “They are arriving.” Sont is the third-person plural present form of être “to be.” The useful form chain is être → elles sont; the subject elles supplies the plural agreement. Example: Elles sont ici. — “They are here.” À côté de is a reusable prepositional expression meaning “next to” or “beside.” It introduces the reference point for a location: Le sac est à côté de la chaise. — “The bag is next to the chair.” Téléphone is the noun “phone.” Its base form is téléphone; in this utterance it is modified by mon, “my,” giving mon téléphone, “my phone.” French nouns have grammatical gender: téléphone is masculine singular, which is why the possessive determiner is mon here. Mon expresses a first-person singular possessor; it does not itself identify a numerical quantity beyond the singular form of the noun. Together, Elles sont says “They are,” and à côté de mon téléphone locates them beside the speaker’s phone. The complete utterance therefore means “They are next to my phone.”

6. Tu as aussi besoin de ta bouteille d'eau ?

   Do you also need your water bottle?

   Tu as

   you have

   aussi

   also

   besoin de

   need

   ta

   your

   bouteille

   bottle

   eau

   water

   More detail

   Tu as is the present-tense form of avoir for tu: tu as = “you have.” Here it appears in the reusable question pattern Tu as ... ?, with question intonation or a question mark and no change in word order. aussi means “also” or “too.” Here it adds the idea that the need is in addition to something already mentioned or considered. besoin de belongs to the construction avoir besoin de = “to need.” The thing needed follows de: J’ai besoin de repos = “I need rest.” besoin itself does not change for the person; the form of avoir changes instead. ta is the possessive determiner meaning “your” with a singular feminine noun. It agrees with the possessed noun, not with the person who owns it. Compare ta bouteille (“your bottle”) with ton sac (“your bag”) and tes bouteilles (“your bottles”). bouteille means “bottle.” It is a feminine singular noun, which is why the phrase uses ta. The noun phrase ta bouteille d’eau means “your water bottle.” eau means “water.” In d’eau, de is elided before the vowel sound at the beginning of eau, producing d’. This expresses the bottle’s content or type: literally, “bottle of water.” Together, Tu as aussi besoin de ta bouteille d’eau ? asks whether the addressed person also needs their water bottle. The structure is Tu as besoin de [noun] ?, with aussi adding “also.”

7. Oui, elle est déjà dans la poche principale.

   Yes, it is already in the main pocket.

   Oui

   yes

   elle

   it; feminine singular pronoun

   est

   is

   déjà

   already

   dans

   in

   poche

   pocket

   principale

   main

   More detail

   Oui is the ordinary French word for “yes,” confirming the preceding question. elle is the third-person singular feminine pronoun. Here, the fixed translation and the preceding context identify it as “it,” referring to the water bottle. Its feminine form matches the feminine noun bouteille; this is a grammatical agreement pattern, not a claim that every English “it” has a feminine form in English. est is the third-person singular present form of être (“to be”): je suis, tu es, il/elle est. Here it links elle with its location. For example, Elle est ici. means “It/She is here,” with the exact referent supplied by context. déjà means “already.” It places the situation before the relevant present point: the bottle is in the pocket now, and this is already the case. Its position between est and the location phrase is natural here. dans is a preposition meaning “in” or “inside.” The pattern être dans + place expresses being located inside a place or container. For example, Le livre est dans le sac. means “The book is in the bag.” poche is a feminine noun meaning “pocket.” Its usual article is therefore une poche or la poche. In this sentence it appears after la, forming la poche (“the pocket”). principale describes poche as the “main” one. It is the feminine singular form of the adjective principal: un compartiment principal but une poche principale. The adjective agrees with the feminine singular noun it describes; principale itself is not the noun’s base form. Together, elle est déjà means “it is already,” and dans la poche principale specifies the location “in the main pocket.” The complete utterance is therefore “Yes, it is already in the main pocket.”

8. Alors, tu as ce qu'il te faut.

   Then you have what you need.

   Alors

   then

   tu as

   you have

   ce qu'il te faut

   what you need

   More detail

   Alors means “then” here and links this utterance to what has just been established. It can also introduce a conclusion or transition in other contexts, but here it is a simple transition. tu as is the second-person singular present form of avoir (“to have”): j’ai, tu as, il/elle a. The subject tu addresses one person. For example, Tu as une clé. means “You have a key.” ce qu’il te faut is a reusable expression meaning “what you need.” ce que introduces “what” when it is the thing involved in the following clause; before il, que is elided to qu’il. In this expression, il faut is the impersonal form of falloir, used for necessity. te means “to you” and identifies the person for whom something is needed, so il te faut means “you need” in this construction. Compare Il me faut du temps. — “I need time.” Together, tu as (“you have”) and ce qu’il te faut (“what you need”) produce “you have what you need.” With Alors at the beginning, the complete utterance means “Then you have what you need.”