Opening a stuck door | Learn French in English

About This Lesson

Use Opening a stuck door to practice French conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.

Dialogue

La porte est coincée.

lah PORT eh kwahn-SAY. The door is stuck.

Essaie de tirer sur la poignée.

eh-SAY duh tee-RAY syur lah pwan-YAY. Try pulling the handle.

J'ai tiré dessus, mais elle reste fermée.

zhay tee-RAY duh-SYOO, meh ell REST fehr-MAY. I pulled it, but it stays closed.

Pousse doucement près du bord.

POOSS dooss-MAHN pray dyoo BOR. Push near the edge slowly.

Elle s'est un peu ouverte.

ell seh-tahn puh oo-VAIRT. It opened a little.

La poignée a du jeu.

lah pwan-YAY ah dyoo ZHUH. The handle feels loose.

Est-ce qu'on devrait arrêter d'utiliser cette porte ?

ess-kohn duh-VRAY ah-ray-TAY dyoo-tee-lee-ZAY set PORT? Should we stop using this door?

On peut réparer la poignée avant que quelqu'un ne reste encore coincé.

ohn puh ray-pah-RAY lah pwan-YAY ah-VAHN kuh kell-KUHN nuh REST ahn-KOR kwahn-SAY. We can fix the handle before anyone gets stuck again.

Word by Word

La “La” means “the” before the feminine singular noun “porte” in “La porte”. It is used with a specific feminine singular noun, such as “la porte”.

porte “Porte” means “door” in “La porte est coincée”. A useful pattern is “la porte” for “the door” when referring to a specific door.

est “Est” means “is” in “La porte est coincée”. It is the form of “être” used here to connect the door with its condition; a reusable pattern is “[subject] est [description]”.

coincée “Coincée” describes the door as stuck in “La porte est coincée”. Its feminine form matches “porte”; the same pattern can describe a feminine object that cannot move or open normally.

Essaie “Essaie” means “try” as a direct instruction in “Essaie de tirer”. It is used with “de” followed by an infinitive: “Essaie de + verb” means “Try to + verb”.

de “De” links “Essaie” to the action “tirer” in “Essaie de tirer”. The reusable pattern is “essayer de + infinitive” for telling someone to try an action.

tirer “Tirer” means “pull” in “tirer sur la poignée”. It is the infinitive after “de”; with “sur”, the pattern “tirer sur + object” means to pull on something.

sur “Sur” means “on” in “tirer sur la poignée”. Here it identifies what is being pulled, and “tirer sur + object” is a useful pattern for actions directed at an object.

poignée “Poignée” means “handle” in “la poignée”. In this dialogue it is the part of the door that is pulled and later repaired; a useful phrase is “tirer sur la poignée”.

J'ai “J'ai” means “I have” as the subject and auxiliary in “J'ai tiré dessus”, which reports that I pulled it. The reusable pattern “J'ai + past participle” reports a completed action.

tiré “Tiré” means “pulled” in “J'ai tiré dessus”. It is the completed-action form used with “J'ai”; the pattern “J'ai tiré” means “I pulled” or “I have pulled”.

dessus “Dessus” means “on it” in “J'ai tiré dessus”, referring to the handle already mentioned. The expression “tirer dessus” means to pull on it, with the object understood from the context.

mais “Mais” means “but” and introduces a contrast in “J'ai tiré dessus, mais elle reste fermée”. It is useful for connecting an action with an unexpected or limiting result.

elle “Elle” means “it” here in “elle reste fermée”, referring back to the feminine noun “porte”. It can refer to a feminine person or object; in this dialogue it keeps the door as the subject.

reste “Reste” means “stays” or “remains” in “elle reste fermée”. The pattern “rester + description” explains that something continues in the same condition.

fermée “Fermée” describes the door as closed in “elle reste fermée”. Its feminine form matches “elle”, which refers to “porte”; “rester fermée” means to stay closed.

Pousse “Pousse” means “push” as a direct instruction in “Pousse doucement”. It is used to tell someone to apply pressure, and it can be followed by a place or object.

doucement “Doucement” means “gently” or “slowly” in “Pousse doucement”. It describes how the pushing should be done; a useful pattern is an action followed by “doucement” to request care.

près “Près” means “near” in “près du bord”. The common pattern is “près de + noun”, used to locate an action or object close to something.

du “Du” has two roles in this dialogue. In “près du bord”, it is the contracted form of “de + le”; in “a du jeu”, it introduces an unspecified amount of looseness.

bord “Bord” means “edge” in “près du bord”. The phrase “près du bord” locates the pushing near the edge of the door.

s'est “S'est” is the form used with “ouverte” in “Elle s'est un peu ouverte” to report that the door opened. It is the contraction of “se” and “est” in this completed event; the reusable pattern is “[subject] s'est + past participle” for such an event.

un “Un” contributes to the quantity expression “un peu”, meaning “a little” in “Elle s'est un peu ouverte”. Together with “peu”, it expresses a small amount rather than “a” before a noun.

peu “Peu” means “little” in “un peu”. The expression “un peu” is used before a description or action to indicate a small degree or amount.

ouverte “Ouverte” means “open” in “Elle s'est un peu ouverte”, describing the door after it moved. Its feminine form matches “elle”, referring to “porte”; the phrase means that it opened a little.

a “A” means “has” in “La poignée a du jeu”. Here it is part of the expression “avoir du jeu”, which describes looseness in the handle rather than simply possession.

jeu “Jeu” means “looseness” or “play” in “La poignée a du jeu”. The reusable expression “avoir du jeu” describes a part that moves loosely or is not tight.

Est-ce “Est-ce” opens the question “Est-ce qu'on devrait arrêter d'utiliser cette porte ?”. Together with the following clause, it forms a standard way to ask a yes-or-no question.

qu'on “Qu'on” links “Est-ce” to the clause “on devrait arrêter” and contains “on”, which means “we” in this question. The pattern “Est-ce qu'on + verb” asks what we should or can do.

devrait “Devrait” means “should” in “on devrait arrêter d'utiliser cette porte”. It presents stopping use of the door as a suggestion; the pattern “on devrait + infinitive” is useful for making a recommendation.

arrêter “Arrêter” means “stop” in “arrêter d'utiliser”. It is followed by “de” and an infinitive when the meaning is to stop doing an activity: “arrêter de + verb”.

d'utiliser “D'utiliser” means “using” as the action to stop in “arrêter d'utiliser cette porte”. It is “de” before “utiliser” after “arrêter”; the pattern “arrêter d'utiliser + object” means to stop using something.

cette “Cette” means “this” in “cette porte”. It identifies one specific feminine singular noun, and its form matches “porte”.

On “On” means “we” in “On peut réparer la poignée”. In this dialogue it refers to the people discussing the door; the pattern “On peut + infinitive” suggests an action they can take.

peut “Peut” means “can” in “On peut réparer”. It is followed by an infinitive to express ability or possibility: “peut + verb”.

réparer “Réparer” means “fix” or “repair” in “réparer la poignée”. It is the infinitive after “peut” and takes the thing being fixed directly, as in “réparer la poignée”.

avant “Avant” means “before” in “avant que quelqu'un ne reste encore coincé”. The reusable pattern “avant que + clause” introduces an event that should not happen first.

que “Que” introduces the clause after “avant” in “avant que quelqu'un ne reste encore coincé”. Together, “avant que” means “before” and is followed here by a subject and an action.

quelqu'un “Quelqu'un” means “someone” in “quelqu'un ne reste encore coincé”. It refers to an unspecified person; a common pattern is “quelqu'un + verb” when the person is not identified.

ne “Ne” appears in “avant que quelqu'un ne reste encore coincé”. Here it does not make the clause negative; it is used in this construction after “avant que”.

encore “Encore” means “again” in “reste encore coincé”. It shows that the possibility of someone getting stuck has happened or could happen another time; it can modify an action that repeats.

Grammar Points

avant que + subjonctif

Avant que quelqu'un répare la porte.

ah-VAHN kuh kell-KUHN ray-PAHR lah PORT.

Before someone repairs the door.

Après « avant que », le verbe se met au subjonctif pour exprimer une action qui n'est pas encore réalisée.

avoir du jeu

La poignée a du jeu.

lah pwan-YAY ah dyoo ZHUH.

The handle feels loose.

« Avoir du jeu » est une expression fixe qui décrit une pièce trop lâche ou mobile.

French Vocabulary

bord noun

BOR edge

Pousse doucement près du bord.

coincé adj

kwahn-SAY stuck coincée

La porte est coincée.

doucement adv

dooss-MAHN slowly, gently

Pousse doucement près du bord.

essayer verb

eh-say-YAY to try Essaie

Essaie de tirer sur la poignée.

fermé adj

fehr-MAY closed fermée

Elle reste fermée.

poignée noun

pwan-YAY handle

Essaie de tirer sur la poignée.

porte noun

PORT door

La porte est coincée.

pousser verb

POO-SAY to push Pousse

Pousse doucement près du bord.

près de prep

pray duh near près du

Pousse doucement près du bord.

rester verb

reh-STAY to stay, to remain reste

Elle reste fermée.

s'ouvrir verb

soo-VREER to open s'est ouverte

Elle s'est un peu ouverte.

tirer verb

tee-RAY to pull

Essaie de tirer sur la poignée.

Quiz

Word Order

Arrange the words in the correct order.

The door is stuck.

Show Answer

La porte est coincée.

Try pulling the handle.

Show Answer

Essaie de tirer sur la poignée.

Push near the edge slowly.

Show Answer

Pousse doucement près du bord.

Spelling

Tap the letters to spell the word.

door

Show Answer

porte

to try

Show Answer

Essaie

slowly, gently

Show Answer

doucement

stuck

Show Answer

coincée