Fixing a loose chair | Learn French in English

About This Lesson

Use Fixing a loose chair to practice French conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.

Dialogue

Cette chaise semble instable.

set SHEHZ sahnbl an-STAHBL This chair feels loose.

Quelle partie bouge ?

kel par-TEE boozh? Which part is moving?

Le pied arrière bouge un peu.

luh pyeh ah-RYEHR boozh uhn PUH The back leg wobbles a little.

Nous devrions la réparer avant que quelqu'un ne l'utilise.

noo duh-vree-YOHN lah ray-pah-RAY ah-VAHN kuh kel-KUHN nuh loo-tee-LEEZ We should fix it before anyone uses it.

Je devrais m'asseoir ailleurs ?

zhuh duh-VREH mah-SWAHR ah-YUHR? Should I sit somewhere else?

Utilise une autre chaise pour l'instant.

oo-tee-LEEZ oon OH-tr shehz poor lan-STAHN Use another chair for now.

Je vais éloigner cette chaise.

zhuh veh ay-lwah-NYAY set shehz I will move this one away.

Mets-la contre le mur pour que le passage reste libre.

meh lah KOHNTR luh MYUR poor kuh luh pah-SAHZH rest LEEBR Put it against the wall so the walkway stays clear.

Word by Word

Cette Cette means this here and points to the chair being discussed in Cette chaise. It is placed directly before the noun it identifies.

chaise Chaise means chair here, specifically the chair that seems unstable. It appears in Cette chaise and une autre chaise, so it can identify a particular chair or a different chair.

semble Semble means seems or appears in Cette chaise semble instable. It presents instable as the speaker’s impression rather than as a direct action.

instable Instable means unstable or not steady here, describing the chair in semble instable. It is used after semble to describe how something appears.

Quelle Quelle means which in Quelle partie and asks the listener to identify one option from several possible parts. It is placed before the noun partie.

partie Partie means part here, referring to one component of the chair. In Quelle partie, it names the component that the speaker wants to identify.

bouge Bouge means moves or wobbles here. It is used both to ask which part is moving and to report that the back leg moves, so it can describe movement of an object.

Le Le means the in Le pied arrière and identifies a specific part already relevant in the conversation. The same article appears before another known object in le passage.

pied Pied means leg here, specifically the leg of the chair in Le pied arrière, not a person’s foot. It names a physical supporting part of furniture.

arrière Arrière means back or rear in Le pied arrière and specifies which leg is meant. It follows pied to identify the leg at the back.

un Un is part of the quantity expression un peu, which means a little in this dialogue. Together with peu, it is placed after bouge to limit the amount of movement.

peu Peu means a small amount in un peu. The expression un peu says that the back leg moves only slightly.

Nous Nous means we in Nous devrions la réparer and refers to the two adults acting together. It is placed before the verb in this recommendation.

devrions Devrions means should or ought to here, expressing a recommendation to repair the chair. It is the first-person plural conditional form of devoir and is followed by the infinitive réparer in Nous devrions la réparer.

la La means it here and refers to the chair. It is a direct-object pronoun placed before réparer in la réparer.

réparer Réparer means to fix or repair here, referring to making the unsafe chair usable again. It is an infinitive after devrions and takes la as its object in la réparer.

avant Avant means before in avant que quelqu'un ne l'utilise. It introduces an action that should happen earlier than someone using the chair.

que Que introduces the following clause in avant que quelqu'un ne l'utilise and pour que le passage reste libre. Its function depends on the whole construction, not on a standalone meaning here.

quelqu'un Quelqu'un means someone or anyone here and is the person who might use the chair. It acts as the subject of the clause quelqu'un ne l'utilise.

ne Ne appears in avant que quelqu'un ne l'utilise as part of the construction after avant que. Here it does not make l'utilise negative; it accompanies the clause about a possible future action.

l'utilise L'utilise means uses it here, with l' referring to the chair. It completes the clause quelqu'un ne l'utilise after avant que.

Je Je means I and marks the speaker in Je devrais m'asseoir and Je vais éloigner cette chaise. It comes before the verb when the speaker describes their own action or intention.

devrais Devrais means should here, in a question about whether the speaker ought to sit somewhere else. It is the first-person singular conditional form of devoir and is followed by m'asseoir in Je devrais m'asseoir.

m'asseoir M'asseoir means to sit down here, with m' referring to the speaker. It is the infinitive used after devrais in Je devrais m'asseoir ailleurs.

ailleurs Ailleurs means somewhere else or elsewhere in m'asseoir ailleurs. It shows that the proposed place is different from the current seat.

Utilise Utilise means use as a direct instruction in Utilise une autre chaise. It is an imperative addressed to one person and is followed by the object une autre chaise.

une Une is the feminine singular indefinite article in une autre chaise. It introduces a chair that has not been specified as the particular chair already being discussed.

autre Autre means another here and distinguishes une autre chaise from the unsafe chair. It comes before chaise in the expression une autre chaise.

pour Pour has two functions in this dialogue: pour l'instant means for now, while pour que le passage reste libre introduces the purpose of placing the chair there. Its meaning must be understood from the construction that follows it.

l'instant L'instant means the moment in pour l'instant, which together means for now. This expression limits the instruction to the present period.

vais Vais means am going to or will in Je vais éloigner cette chaise. It is the first-person singular form used with an infinitive to express an intended near-future action.

éloigner Éloigner means to move away or move farther from the current position here. It is the infinitive after vais in Je vais éloigner cette chaise.

Mets Mets means put or place as a direct instruction in Mets-la contre le mur. It is an imperative addressed to one person and is followed by the object la.

contre Contre means against in contre le mur and describes the chair’s position touching or placed beside the wall. It introduces the surface or object against which something is placed.

mur Mur means wall here, in contre le mur. It is the surface against which the chair should be placed.

passage Passage means walkway or passage here, referring to the area people need to walk through. In le passage reste libre, it is the thing that remains unobstructed.

reste Reste means stays or remains in le passage reste libre. It says that the walkway continues to have the condition described by libre.

libre Libre means clear or unobstructed here, describing the walkway in le passage reste libre. The expression explains the purpose of moving the chair against the wall.

Grammar Points

avant que + subjonctif

avant que quelqu'un l'utilise

ah-VAHN kuh kel-KUHN loo-tee-LEEZ

before someone uses it

Après « avant que », le français emploie généralement le subjonctif pour exprimer une action qui n'est pas encore réalisée.

pour que + subjonctif

pour que le passage reste libre

poor kuh luh pah-SAHZH rest LEEBR

so that the walkway remains clear

« Pour que » introduit un but et est suivi du subjonctif.

French Vocabulary

arrière adj

ah-RYEHR back

Le pied arrière bouge un peu.

avant que conj

ah-VAHN kuh before

Nous devrions la réparer avant que quelqu'un ne l'utilise.

bouger verb

boo-ZHAY to move bouge

Quelle partie bouge ?

chaise noun

SHEHZ chair

Cette chaise semble instable.

devoir verb

duh-VWAHR should; to have to devrions

Nous devrions la réparer avant que quelqu'un ne l'utilise.

instable adj

an-STAHBL unstable

Cette chaise semble instable.

partie noun

par-TEE part

Quelle partie bouge ?

pied noun

pyeh leg

Le pied arrière bouge un peu.

quel det

kel which quelle

Quelle partie bouge ?

réparer verb

ray-pah-RAY to fix; to repair

Nous devrions la réparer avant que quelqu'un ne l'utilise.

sembler verb

sahn-BLAY to seem semble

Cette chaise semble instable.

un peu phrase

uhn PUH a little

Le pied arrière bouge un peu.

Quiz

Word Order

Arrange the words in the correct order.

This chair feels loose.

Show Answer

Cette chaise semble instable.

Which part is moving?

Show Answer

Quelle partie bouge ?

The back leg wobbles a little.

Show Answer

Le pied arrière bouge un peu.

Spelling

Tap the letters to spell the word.

which

Show Answer

quelle

chair

Show Answer

chaise

to move

Show Answer

bouge

unstable

Show Answer

instable