About This Lesson
Use Finding the back of the line to practice French conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.
Dialogue
A
Où est la fin de cette file ?
oo eh lah fan duh set FEEL Where is the end of this line?
B
La fin est près de la porte.
lah fan eh preh duh lah POHRT The end is over by the door.
A
Est-ce que je dois attendre là-bas ?
ess-kuh zhuh dwah ah-TON-druh lah-BAH Should I wait there?
B
Mettez-vous derrière la dernière personne.
met-AY voo deh-RYEHR lah dehr-NYEHR pehr-SON Stand behind the last person.
A
Je n'ai pas vu le panneau.
zhuh nay pah voo luh pah-NOH I missed the sign.
B
Il est affiché à côté de la porte.
eel eh ah-fee-SHAY ah koh-TAY duh lah POHRT It is posted next to the door.
A
Je vais aller au fond de la file.
zhuh vay ah-LAY oh fohn duh lah FEEL I will head to the back.
B
C'est là que les gens rejoignent la file.
say lah kuh lay zhahn ruh-ZHWAHN lah FEEL That is where people are joining.Word by Word
Où
Où means “where” in the question Où est la fin de cette file ? It asks for the location of the end of the line. A reusable pattern is Où est + a person or thing? when asking where something is.
est
Est means “is” in Où est la fin de cette file ? and La fin est près de la porte. Its citation form is être; est is the form used with the subject in these sentences. A reusable pattern is Où est + a person or thing? for asking about a location.
la
La means “the” before fin in la fin and identifies a specific end. It is also used in la porte for the specific door. A reusable pattern is la + noun when referring to a particular feminine noun.
fin
Fin means “end” in la fin de cette file, referring to the back or ending point of this queue. The phrase la fin de + noun identifies the end of something. In this dialogue, it is the place a person should go to join the line.
de
De links fin to cette file in la fin de cette file and means “of.” It shows that the end belongs to or is associated with the line. A reusable pattern is la fin de + noun for the end of something.
cette
Cette means “this” before file in cette file, pointing to the particular line being discussed. It comes directly before the noun it identifies. A reusable pattern is cette + noun when indicating one specific thing nearby or under discussion.
file
File means “line” or “queue” in cette file and la file. Here it refers to the line of people waiting near the doorway. A reusable pattern is rejoindre la file when saying that someone joins the queue.
près
Près means “near” in près de la porte, describing the end as close to the door. It is used with de before the location or thing that is nearby. A reusable pattern is près de + noun for saying that something is near a place or object.
porte
Porte means “door” in près de la porte and à côté de la porte. It is the reference point for describing where the end of the line and the sign are located. A reusable pattern is près de la porte or à côté de la porte for giving a location relative to a door.
Est-ce que
Est-ce que introduces the question Est-ce que je dois attendre là-bas ? It turns the following statement into a question. The exact components Est-ce and que work together at the beginning, and a reusable pattern is Est-ce que + subject + verb for asking a question.
je
Je means “I” in je dois attendre and Je n'ai pas vu le panneau, referring to the speaker. It appears before the verb in these statements. A reusable pattern is je + verb when the speaker describes their own action or situation.
dois
Dois expresses “should” or “must” in je dois attendre, where the speaker asks whether waiting is required. Its citation form is devoir; dois is the form used with je here. A reusable pattern is je dois + infinitive for saying that the speaker should or must do something.
attendre
Attendre means “wait” in je dois attendre. It follows dois and names the action the speaker may need to do. A reusable pattern is devoir + attendre when expressing that someone should or must wait.
là-bas
Là-bas means “over there” in attendre là-bas, pointing to a place away from the speaker. It gives the location for the action of waiting. A reusable pattern is verb + là-bas when saying that an action happens over there.
Mettez-vous
Mettez-vous tells the listener to position themselves in Mettez-vous derrière la dernière personne. Its citation form is se mettre; Mettez-vous is the form used here to give that instruction. A reusable pattern is Mettez-vous + location when telling someone where to stand or place themselves.
derrière
Derrière means “behind” in derrière la dernière personne and gives the position to take in the line. It comes before the person or object used as the reference point. A reusable pattern is derrière + noun for describing a location behind something or someone.
dernière
Dernière means “last” in la dernière personne, identifying the person at the back of the line. Its related citation form is dernier; dernière is the form used in this expression. A reusable pattern is la dernière + noun when identifying the final person or thing in a sequence.
personne
Personne means “person” in la dernière personne, referring to the person at the back of the queue. It is specified by dernière in this phrase. A reusable pattern is une personne or la personne when referring to one person, with the article chosen for the context.
n'ai
N'ai supplies the “have” part of the negative expression Je n'ai pas vu le panneau, meaning that the speaker did not see the sign. Its citation form is avoir; n'ai is the form used with je in this expression. A reusable pattern is Je n'ai pas vu + object when saying that you did not see something.
pas
Pas marks the negation in Je n'ai pas vu le panneau. Together with n'ai, it makes the statement negative, while vu supplies the seeing action. A reusable pattern is n'ai pas + action when saying that the speaker has not done or experienced something.
vu
Vu supplies the action “seen” in Je n'ai pas vu le panneau. Its citation form is voir; vu is the form used after n'ai pas in this expression. A reusable pattern is n'ai pas vu + object when explaining that something was not noticed.
panneau
Panneau means “sign” in Je n'ai pas vu le panneau. It is the object that the speaker failed to notice and that is displayed next to the door. A reusable pattern is voir un panneau or ne pas voir le panneau when talking about noticing a sign.
Il
Il means “it” in Il est affiché à côté de la porte and refers here to le panneau from the previous line. It is the subject of the statement about where the sign is displayed. A reusable pattern is Il est + description or location when referring back to a masculine noun or object.
affiché
Affiché describes the sign as posted or displayed in Il est affiché à côté de la porte. Its citation form is afficher; affiché is the form used in this description. A reusable pattern is est affiché + location when saying where a notice or sign is displayed.
à
À contributes to the location expression à côté de la porte, meaning “next to the door.” Here it works together with côté and de rather than giving the whole location meaning alone. A reusable pattern is à côté de + noun for describing something beside another thing.
côté
Côté helps form à côté de la porte, which means “next to the door.” In this dialogue, it identifies the side or position beside the door. A reusable pattern is à côté de + noun when locating a person or object beside something.
vais
Vais introduces the speaker’s intended upcoming action in Je vais aller au fond de la file. Its citation form is aller; vais is the form used with je here. A reusable pattern is Je vais + infinitive for stating what the speaker is going to do.
aller
Aller means “go” in Je vais aller au fond de la file. It follows vais and names the movement toward the back of the queue. A reusable pattern is aller + destination when saying where someone is going.
au
Au means “to the” in aller au fond de la file and marks the destination. It is the combined form of à and le before fond. A reusable pattern is aller au + place when describing movement to a masculine destination.
fond
Fond means “back” or “end” in au fond de la file, referring to the back part of the queue. The phrase au fond de + noun identifies the far or back part of something. Here it tells the speaker where to go to join the line.
C'est
C'est means “that is” or “it is” in C'est là que les gens rejoignent la file, pointing to the place just mentioned. It introduces the explanation of what happens there. A reusable pattern is C'est + location when identifying a place or situation.
là
Là means “there” in C'est là que les gens rejoignent la file and points to the back of the line. It connects the location with the action that happens there. A reusable pattern is C'est là que + action when explaining what happens at a particular place.
que
Que links là to the clause les gens rejoignent la file in C'est là que les gens rejoignent la file. Together with là, it introduces the information about what happens there; it does not give the whole meaning by itself. A reusable pattern is C'est là que + clause for saying that a particular action happens at that place.
les
Les means “the” before gens in les gens and refers to the people as a group. It is the plural article used with this noun here. A reusable pattern is les + noun when referring to multiple people or things as a known group.
gens
Gens means “people” in les gens rejoignent la file. It is the subject of the action of joining the queue. A reusable pattern is les gens + verb when describing what people do.
rejoignent
Rejoignent describes the people joining the line in les gens rejoignent la file. Its citation form is rejoindre; rejoignent is the form used with les gens here. A reusable pattern is rejoindre + noun when saying that someone joins a group, queue, or place.
Grammar Points
où + verbe-pronom sujet
Où mettez-vous ?
oo met-AY VOOWhere do you stand?
In a formal question, the subject pronoun follows the verb and is linked with a hyphen.
French Vocabulary
attendre
verb
ah-TON-druh
to wait
je dois attendre
cette
det
set
this
cette file
dernière
adj
dehr-NYEHR
last
la dernière personne
derrière
prep
deh-RYEHR
behind
derrière la dernière personne
file
noun
feel
line, queue
cette file
fin
noun
fan
end
Où est la fin de cette file ?
là-bas
adv
lah-BAH
there, over there
attendre là-bas
mettez-vous
verb
met-AY voo
stand, position yourself
Mettez-vous derrière la dernière personne.
où
adv
oo
where
Où est la fin de cette file ?
personne
noun
pehr-SON
person
la dernière personne
porte
noun
pohrt
door
la porte
près de
prep
preh duh
near, by
La fin est près de la porte.
Quiz
Word Order
Arrange the words in the correct order.
Stand behind the last person.
Show Answer
Mettez-vous derrière la dernière personne.I missed the sign.
Show Answer
Je n'ai pas vu le panneau.Spelling
Tap the letters to spell the word.
door
Show Answer
porteline, queue
Show Answer
fileto wait
Show Answer
attendrethis