Talking about taking photos | Learn French in English

Sentence explanations

1. Tu prends des photos ?

   Do you take photos?

   Tu

   you

   prends

   take

   photos

   photos

   More detail

   Tu is the informal singular subject pronoun “you.” It addresses one person; the formal or plural “you” is vous. Example: Tu viens ? means “Are you coming?” prends is the present-tense second-person singular form of prendre, “to take.” The stem changes in this form: je prends, tu prends, il/elle prend, while nous prenons and vous prenez show different present forms. Here, prendre des photos is the reusable expression “to take photos.” Example: Tu prends le bus. means “You take the bus.” photos is the plural noun “photos” or “photographs.” Its singular is photo; the plural is marked by the written -s, which is normally not pronounced. In des photos, des is the plural indefinite article, so the phrase means “photos” in a general, non-specific sense. Together, Tu prends des photos ? uses the ordinary French spoken-question pattern of a statement-like word order with rising intonation: subject tu + present-tense verb prends + object des photos. The whole utterance means “Do you take photos?” Here, the present tense asks generally about the person’s photo-taking activity or habit; it does not by itself specify one particular moment. A more formal or plural version would be Vous prenez des photos ?.

2. J'utilise mon petit appareil photo presque tous les jours.

   I use my small camera most days.

   J'utilise

   I use

   mon

   my

   petit

   small

   appareil photo

   camera

   presque tous les jours

   most days

   More detail

   J'utilise is the first-person singular present form of utiliser (“to use”). The apostrophe comes from je before a vowel: je utilise becomes j'utilise. The same form can introduce a reusable pattern: J'utilise + noun = “I use + noun.” Example: J'utilise ce stylo. — “I use this pen.” mon means “my” before the singular masculine noun appareil. Possessive adjectives agree with the possessed noun, not with the owner: mon is used with a masculine singular noun, while ma is used with a feminine singular noun, as in ma voiture (“my car”). Before a vowel sound, mon can also appear before a feminine singular noun, as in mon amie (“my female friend”); that is a pronunciation-driven form, not evidence that the noun is masculine. petit means “small” here and is the masculine singular form of the adjective petit, agreeing with appareil. Its basic comparison pattern is petit (“small”), plus petit (“smaller”), and le plus petit (“the smallest”). Example: un petit sac — “a small bag.” appareil photo is a compound noun meaning “camera.” The head noun is appareil (“device” or “apparatus”), while photo specifies the type. In the sentence, the whole compound is singular, which is why it is preceded by mon and modified by singular masculine petit. Example: J'ai un appareil photo. — “I have a camera.” presque tous les jours expresses a frequency close to every day: literally, “almost every day.” presque means “almost,” and tous les jours is the recurring-time expression “every day.” The fixed translation “most days” gives the intended meaning here without claiming that use occurs on every single day. Example: Je lis presque tous les jours. — “I read most days.” Together, J'utilise mon petit appareil photo means “I use my small camera,” and presque tous les jours adds the frequency “most days.” The complete utterance is therefore: “I use my small camera most days.”

3. Qu'est-ce que tu aimes prendre en photo ?

   What do you like to photograph?

   Qu'est-ce que

   what ...?

   aimes

   like

   prendre

   take

   photo

   photo

   More detail

   Qu'est-ce que is a French question expression meaning “what?” here. It asks for the thing being photographed, not for a person. aimes comes from aimer, “to like” or “to love.” It is the present-tense form used with tu: tu aimes. With an infinitive, aimer expresses liking an activity: J'aime lire = “I like reading.” prendre is the infinitive of “to take.” In prendre en photo, it means “to photograph” or “to take a picture of,” rather than simply taking an object. The infinitive follows aimes because the liked activity is expressed with an infinitive. photo means “photo” or “picture.” In prendre en photo, it is part of the expression meaning “to photograph.” The same noun also appears in appareil photo, meaning “camera,” in the preceding context. Together, tu aimes prendre en photo means “you like to photograph.” Here, Qu'est-ce que asks what the person likes to photograph: it is the object of prendre en photo, while aimes introduces the liked activity. The complete utterance means “What do you like to photograph?”

4. Les rues calmes sont mes préférées.

   Quiet streets are my favorite.

   rues

   streets

   calmes

   quiet

   sont

   are

   mes préférées

   my favorites

   More detail

   rues means “streets” here. Its base form is rue (“street”); rues is the plural form, marked by final -s in writing. The noun is feminine: une rue, des rues. calmes means “quiet” and describes rues. Its base form is calme; the adjective has the same pronunciation in the singular and plural, but the written plural adds -s: une rue calme, des rues calmes. The adjective agrees with the feminine plural noun here. For example: des rues animées means “busy streets.” sont is a form of être (“to be”). It is the present-tense form for the third-person plural: ils sont or elles sont. In this sentence it links the plural subject Les rues calmes to the description that follows. Do not confuse it with son, which means “his/her/its” before a singular noun. mes préférées means “my favorites.” mes is the possessive determiner used with a plural noun, regardless of whether that noun is masculine or feminine: mes livres (“my books”), mes rues (“my streets”). préférées is the feminine plural form of préféré, from préférer (“to prefer”); it agrees with the understood feminine plural noun rues. Here the adjective is used substantively, so it stands for “favorite ones.” The masculine plural counterpart is mes préférés when the understood referent is masculine or mixed. Together, Les rues calmes is the plural subject “quiet streets.” sont means “are,” and mes préférées says that those streets are the speaker’s favorite ones. The whole utterance is therefore: “Quiet streets are my favorite.”

5. Je peux en voir une ?

   Can I see one?

   Je peux

   I can / may

   en

   of them

   voir

   see

   une

   one

   More detail

   Je peux combines je (“I”) with peux, the first-person singular present form of pouvoir (“can; be able to”). With an infinitive, pouvoir expresses ability or, as in this question, asks for permission: Je peux entrer ? — “Can I come in?” The form peux is used with je; it is not the infinitive pouvoir. en is a pronoun that can replace something introduced with de or refer to an understood set or quantity. Here it refers to the quiet streets mentioned in the preceding sentence and has the meaning “of them,” so the noun is not repeated. In En voici une, en again refers to that understood set. voir is the infinitive meaning “to see.” It follows the conjugated form peux: pouvoir + infinitive expresses being able or allowed to do something. For example, Je peux attendre. — “I can wait.” une is the feminine singular form of the indefinite pronoun used independently here to mean “one.” It identifies one item while leaving the noun unstated. Its feminine form agrees with the grammatical gender of the omitted noun; this is grammatical gender, not a statement about real-world sex. Compare Je peux en voir un ? — “Can I see one?” Here un is the corresponding masculine singular form. Together, en voir une means “see one [of them],” with en referring to the understood set of quiet streets and une identifying one feminine item. The full question Je peux en voir une ? therefore means “Can I see one?” It asks whether the speaker may see one street from that set.

6. En voici une que j'ai prise près de chez moi.

   Here is one I took near my home.

   voici

   here is

   une

   one

   j'ai

   I have

   prise

   taken

   près de chez moi

   near my home

   More detail

   voici is a fixed presentational word meaning “here is” or “here are”; it does not change for person or number. Example: Voici mon livre. — “Here is my book.” une is a feminine singular pronoun here: it stands for an omitted feminine singular noun and means “one.” The fixed sentence does not identify that noun by name. As a reusable contrast, un is the masculine singular form and une the feminine singular form; these forms can also be indefinite articles before an expressed noun. j’ai is je + ai, the first-person singular present form of avoir. By itself it can mean “I have,” but here avoir is the auxiliary used to form the past tense with prise. The subject is je, meaning “I.” prise is the feminine singular past participle of prendre (“to take”): prendre → pris → prise. In que j’ai prise, que is the direct object of prendre and refers back to the feminine singular une; because that object comes before the auxiliary, the past participle agrees with it, giving prise rather than pris. Example: La photo que j’ai prise est nette. — “The photo I took is clear.” près de chez moi means “near my home.” près de expresses proximity, while chez moi means “at my home” or “where I live”; chez is followed by a stressed pronoun such as moi. Example: Le café est près de chez nous. — “The café is near our home.” Together, En voici une presents one item, and que j’ai prise identifies it as one that the speaker took. près de chez moi specifies where the speaker took it. Thus the whole utterance means: “Here is one I took near my home.”

7. Elle a l'air simple et nette.

   It looks simple and clear.

   Elle a l'air

   it looks / seems

   simple

   simple

   nette

   clear

   More detail

   Elle a l'air is the reusable French pattern avoir l'air + adjective, meaning “to look/seem + adjective.” Here, Elle is the third-person singular pronoun “she/it,” and a is the present-tense form of avoir for elle. In this fixed sentence, the translation supports the appearance meaning “it looks,” without identifying a more specific referent for elle. The adjective after avoir l'air describes how the subject appears. Example: Il a l'air fatigué. — “He looks tired.” The subject changes, so a remains the present form used with third-person singular il, while fatigué agrees with the subject. simple means “simple” here. It is a singular adjective; its spelling is the same for masculine and feminine singular in this form. Common forms include simple (singular) and simples (plural). Example: Ces instructions sont simples. — “These instructions are simple.” nette means “clear” here. It is the feminine singular form of net; the doubled t and final e mark the feminine form in writing. The masculine singular is net, and the plural forms are nets and nettes. Example: La photo est nette. — “The photo is clear.” Together, Elle a l'air simple et nette means “It looks simple and clear.” The pattern avoir l'air + adjective presents simple and nette as two coordinated qualities of the subject’s appearance.

8. Je m'entraîne chaque fois que j'ai le temps.

   I practice whenever I have time.

   Je

   I

   m'entraîne

   practice

   chaque fois que

   whenever

   j'ai

   I have

   temps

   time

   More detail

   Je is the first-person singular subject pronoun, meaning “I.” It identifies the speaker as the person doing the action. Before a vowel sound, it is shortened to j’, as in j’ai later in the sentence. m’entraîne is the first-person singular present form of the pronominal verb s’entraîner, meaning “to practise” or “to train.” The m’ is the first-person singular pronominal form used with je; it is part of this verb construction, rather than a claim that the speaker is literally acting on themself. The apostrophe appears because me comes before a vowel sound. Example: Je m’entraîne tous les jours. — “I practise every day.” chaque fois que is a reusable conjunction meaning “whenever” or “every time that.” It introduces a condition or situation that recurs. Example: Je lis chaque fois que j’ai le temps. — “I read whenever I have time.” j’ai is the first-person singular present form of avoir, “to have.” je becomes j’ before the vowel at the beginning of ai. The form ai is the form used with je in the present tense. Example: J’ai une minute. — “I have a minute.” temps means “time” here. In the expression avoir le temps, the article is part of the usual expression: avoir le temps means “to have time” or “to have enough time,” not a stated numerical quantity. Example: Nous avons le temps. — “We have time.” Together, Je m’entraîne means “I practise,” and chaque fois que j’ai le temps means “whenever I have time.” The complete utterance is therefore “I practise whenever I have time.”