Preparing for cold weather | Learn French in English

Sentence explanations

1. Il fait froid dehors.

   It feels cold outside.

   Il fait

   weather expression: it is

   froid

   cold

   dehors

   outside

   More detail

   Il fait is the impersonal weather pattern used in French for conditions such as temperature. The verb is faire (“to do/make”), and fait is its present-tense third-person singular form here. The il in this pattern is a grammatical subject, not a person identified by the sentence. Reusable pattern: Il fait + adjective, as in Il fait chaud. — “It is hot.” froid means “cold” here and describes the weather. It is the masculine singular form of the adjective froid; in this fixed expression, it follows il fait. The useful contrast is chaud — “hot/warm”: Il fait froid. — “It is cold.” dehors is an adverb meaning “outside.” It specifies where the cold condition applies. It does not change form for grammatical gender or number. For example, Les enfants jouent dehors. means “The children are playing outside.” Together, Il fait froid expresses a cold temperature, and dehors locates that condition outside: “It feels cold outside.”

2. Mets ton écharpe.

   Wear your scarf.

   Mets

   put on; wear

   ton

   your

   écharpe

   scarf

   More detail

   Mets is the second-person singular imperative of mettre (“to put”). With clothing, mettre commonly means “to put on” or, in this sentence, “to wear.” The imperative addresses one person informally; the subject tu is understood and normally omitted. Mets has the same spelling as the present-tense form in tu mets, but here its function is an instruction. Example: Mets ton manteau. — “Put on your coat.” ton is a possessive determiner meaning “your” when there is one possessor. Its form agrees with the possessed noun, not with the possessor. ton is the masculine singular form, and it is also used before a feminine singular noun beginning with a vowel sound, as in ton écharpe, for euphony. Before a feminine singular noun beginning with a consonant sound, use ta: ta veste — “your jacket.” écharpe is a feminine singular noun meaning “scarf.” Its plural form is écharpes: des écharpes — “scarves.” Together, Mets ton écharpe means “Wear your scarf,” or more literally in this clothing context, “Put on your scarf.” It is a direct informal instruction to one person.

3. Est-ce que j'ai besoin de gants aussi ?

   Do I need gloves too?

   Est-ce que

   question marker

   j'ai besoin de

   I need

   gants

   gloves

   aussi

   too

   More detail

   Est-ce que is a standard French question marker placed at the beginning of a yes/no question. It does not itself mean “need”; it turns the statement that follows into a question. For example: Est-ce que tu viens ? — “Are you coming?” j'ai besoin de expresses “I need” and is built from avoir besoin de, literally “to have need of.” j'ai is the first-person singular present form of avoir (“I have”); the useful pattern is j'ai besoin de + noun or j'ai besoin de + infinitive. For example: J'ai besoin de dormir. — “I need to sleep.” gants means “gloves” here. Its singular form is gant, and gants is the plural form. In the construction avoir besoin de, the noun follows de: J'ai besoin de gants. — “I need gloves.” aussi means “too” or “also.” Here it adds gloves as another item that is needed. It commonly comes after the element being added, as in Je veux du thé aussi. — “I want tea too.” Together, Est-ce que makes the question, j'ai besoin de gants says “I need gloves,” and aussi adds “too.” The complete utterance therefore means: “Do I need gloves too?”

4. Ils garderont tes mains au chaud.

   They'll keep your hands warm.

   Ils

   they

   garderont

   will keep

   tes

   your

   mains

   hands

   au chaud

   warm

   More detail

   Ils means “they” here. It is the third-person plural subject pronoun, used for a group of people or things. Its masculine form is also used for a mixed-gender group; elles is the feminine plural form when appropriate. Example: Ils arrivent. — “They are arriving.” garderont means “will keep.” Its base form is garder (“to keep”), and garderont is the simple future for ils/elles: ils garderont. In French, the future ending is attached to the infinitive here: garder → garderont. Example: Ils garderont la porte ouverte. — “They will keep the door open.” tes means “your” for one person being addressed. It is a possessive determiner used before a plural noun, regardless of that noun’s gender. Compare ton before a masculine singular noun, ta before a feminine singular noun, and tes before a plural noun. Example: tes livres — “your books.” mains means “hands.” Its singular base form is main (“hand”); mains is the plural form. The final s is generally not pronounced in this word. Example: J’ai froid aux mains. — “My hands are cold.” au chaud means “warm” in the expression garder quelque chose au chaud, literally “keep something in the warm,” meaning “keep something warm.” au is the contraction of à and le; chaud is the masculine singular form of the adjective “warm.” In this fixed expression, chaud belongs to the established phrase rather than directly agreeing with mains. Example: Je garde le repas au chaud. — “I keep the meal warm.” Together, Ils garderont gives the future action “they will keep,” tes mains identifies the thing being kept warm, and au chaud states the resulting condition. The whole utterance therefore means: “They’ll keep your hands warm.”

5. Où sont mes gants ?

   Where are my gloves?

   Où sont

   where are

   mes

   my

   gants

   gloves

   More detail

   Où sont asks for the location of plural things: où means “where,” and sont is the third-person plural form of être (“to be”). In this direct-question pattern, the verb comes before the following subject: Où sont mes gants ? — “Where are my gloves?” With a singular subject, use Où est ... ? instead. mes means “my” before a plural noun. It agrees with the possessed noun in number, not with the owner. For a singular noun, French uses mon or ma according to the noun’s grammatical gender, with mon also used before a feminine singular noun beginning with a vowel sound: mon ami, ma voiture, mon amie. Example: mes chaussures means “my shoes.” gants means “gloves.” Its singular form is gant; the final -s in gants marks the plural in writing and is normally not pronounced. Example: J’ai un gant. — “I have one glove.” Together, Où sont + mes gants forms a direct question asking where the speaker’s gloves are: “Where are my gloves?”

6. Ils sont à côté de ton manteau.

   They're next to your coat.

   Ils

   they

   sont

   are

   à côté de

   next to

   ton

   your

   manteau

   coat

   More detail

   Ils means “they” here and refers to the gloves mentioned in the preceding question. It is a third-person plural subject pronoun; ils is used for a masculine plural group, including a group of masculine nouns such as les gants (“the gloves”). A feminine plural group normally uses elles. sont is the present-tense form of être (“to be”) for third-person plural: ils sont = “they are.” The form agrees with the subject ils, not with the nearby noun. Example: Ils sont ici. — “They are here.” À côté de is a reusable location expression meaning “next to” or “beside.” It is followed by the thing used as the location reference: à côté de la porte — “next to the door.” In this sentence, it introduces ton manteau. Ton means “your” before a masculine singular noun. It agrees with the possessed noun, manteau, rather than with the person who owns it. It is the possessive form used when addressing one person informally with tu; before a feminine singular noun beginning with a vowel sound, French uses ton as well, as in ton amie (“your friend”). Manteau means “coat.” It is a masculine singular noun; its plural is manteaux (“coats”). The phrase ton manteau therefore means “your coat,” with ton marking the noun as masculine singular and possessed by the person being addressed. Together, Ils sont (“they are”) + à côté de (“next to”) + ton manteau (“your coat”) gives: “They’re next to your coat.” The preceding context identifies “they” as the gloves, while the next sentence refers back to them with les.

7. Je les mettrai avant de sortir.

   I'll put them on before I go.

   Je

   I

   les

   them

   mettrai

   will put on

   avant de

   before

   sortir

   go out

   More detail

   Je is the first-person singular subject pronoun: “I.” It identifies the speaker as the person who will perform the action. Compare tu for one person addressed directly: Tu sortiras. — “You will go out.” les is a plural direct-object pronoun meaning “them” here. It refers to the plural items being put on, while the fixed sentence does not specify exactly which items they are. French object pronouns normally come before the conjugated verb: Je les mets. — “I put them on.” mettrai is the first-person singular future form of mettre, “to put.” The form chain is mettre → je mettrai (“I will put”). With clothing, mettre can mean “to put on,” as intended here: Je mettrai mon manteau. — “I will put on my coat.” The future ending shows that the action is presented as taking place later; les is the object, not part of the verb. avant de introduces an action that happens later than the action in the main clause: “before.” It is followed by an infinitive when the understood subject of both actions is the same, as here: Je partirai avant de manger. — “I will leave before eating.” sortir is the infinitive “to go out” or “to leave.” In avant de sortir, it names the later action without marking a separate subject. The pattern is avant de + infinitive: avant de dormir — “before going to sleep.” Together, Je les mettrai means “I will put them on,” and avant de sortir means “before going out.” The whole utterance is therefore: “I’ll put them on before I go.”

8. Alors, tu seras prêt pour le froid.

   Then you'll be ready for the cold.

   Alors

   Then

   tu seras

   you will be

   prêt

   ready

   froid

   cold

   More detail

   Alors means “then” here and places the statement after an earlier point or event. It can also mean “so” in other contexts, but “then” fits this sentence. tu seras uses seras, the second-person singular future form of être (“to be”): je serai, tu seras, il/elle sera. tu addresses one person; seras marks future time and second-person singular, not gender. prêt is the adjective “ready.” The observed form is masculine singular. With a feminine singular person, the corresponding form is prête; with plural people, forms such as prêts or prêtes are used according to gender. This adjective describes the person addressed, while seras is the verb carrying the future tense. froid is the noun “cold” in le froid, not the adjective “cold” modifying a noun. The adjective is also froid in some forms, but its role and meaning must be identified from the surrounding structure. Here, pour le froid means “for the cold” or “ready to face the cold”; pour introduces what the readiness is directed toward, and le is the definite article. Together, tu seras prêt means “you will be ready,” and pour le froid specifies what the person will be ready for. With Alors at the beginning, the complete utterance means: “Then you'll be ready for the cold.”