Checking a room | Learn French in English

Sentence explanations

1. La salle est prête ?

   Is the room ready?

   salle

   room

   est

   is

   prête

   ready

   More detail

   salle means “room” here. The noun is feminine singular: une salle (“a room”) and la salle (“the room”). The feminine gender is a grammatical property of the French noun, not a claim about the room itself. Example: La salle est grande. — “The room is large.” est is the third-person singular present form of être (“to be”). The basic present forms include je suis (“I am”), tu es (“you are”), and il/elle est (“he/she is”); est is used here because the subject is the singular noun la salle. Example: La salle est ouverte. — “The room is open.” prête means “ready” in this sentence. It is the feminine singular form of the adjective prêt; the masculine singular form is prêt, as in un espace prêt (“a ready space”). Because prête describes the feminine singular noun salle, it has the feminine ending -e. Example: La salle est prête. — “The room is ready.” Together, La salle (“the room”) + est (“is”) + prête (“ready”) form a statement, and the question mark turns it into a yes/no question: “Is the room ready?” In French, this kind of question can keep statement word order and rely on intonation in speech or the question mark in writing.

2. Les chaises sont en place.

   The chairs are in place.

   chaises

   chairs

   sont

   are

   en place

   in place

   More detail

   chaises means “chairs” here. Its base form is chaise (“chair”); chaises is the plural form, marked by final -s. French nouns have grammatical gender: chaise is feminine, but this plural noun does not show its gender in this form. Example: Une chaise est libre. — “A chair is free.” sont is the present-tense form of être (“to be”) for ils or elles (“they”). It agrees with the plural subject Les chaises; the relevant condition here is plural number, not gender. Compare est for a singular subject: La chaise est libre. — “The chair is free.” en place is a reusable expression meaning “in place,” describing something as positioned or ready where it should be. In this sentence it refers to the chairs’ state, not to an action of placing them. Example: Tout est en place. — “Everything is in place.” Together, Les chaises (“the chairs”) + sont (“are”) + en place (“in place”) gives: “The chairs are in place.” The definite article Les marks the chairs as specific plural chairs; the sentence states their current arrangement or status.

3. L'écran fonctionne ?

   Is the screen working?

   L'écran

   the screen

   fonctionne

   works; is working

   More detail

   L'écran means “the screen” here. écran is a masculine French noun meaning “screen.” l' is the elided form of the definite article le before a vowel sound: le écran is not used; the form is l'écran. The article marks a specific screen, while the singular form comes from the noun phrase; the article itself does not state a numeric count. fonctionne means “is working” in this sentence. It is the present-tense, third-person singular form of fonctionner (“to work,” “to function”). The ending matches the singular subject l'écran. For example: La machine fonctionne. — “The machine is working.” In L'écran fonctionne ?, the noun phrase L'écran is followed by the present-tense verb fonctionne. In spoken French, rising intonation can turn this ordinary subject–verb order into a yes/no question. The complete meaning is therefore “Is the screen working?”

4. L'image est nette.

   The picture looks clear.

   L'image

   the picture

   nette

   clear; sharp

   More detail

   L'image means “the picture.” image is a feminine noun, and l' is the elided form of the definite article la before a vowel sound: la image becomes l'image. The apostrophe is part of the written form. For example, l'idée means “the idea.” nette means “clear” or “sharp” here, describing the picture’s visual clarity. It is the feminine singular form of the adjective net; the masculine singular form is net, as in un écran net (“a clear screen”). The final -e marks agreement with feminine singular image. This adjective can describe an image, screen, sound, or boundary when the relevant meaning is clarity or distinctness. The verb est is the third-person singular present form of être (“to be”). Together, L'image est nette uses the pattern subject + être + adjective: “The picture is clear.” In natural English, “The picture looks clear” expresses the same intended meaning. The adjective follows the noun phrase and agrees with image, not with the verb. Whole utterance: L'image identifies the picture, est links it to a description, and nette supplies that description. The complete meaning is “The picture looks clear.”

5. Est-ce qu'on a des marqueurs ?

   Do we have markers?

   Est-ce qu'on

   Do we …?

   a

   have

   marqueurs

   markers

   More detail

   Est-ce qu'on is a common French yes/no-question pattern. Est-ce que turns the following clause into a question, and on is the subject; here, the fixed translation shows that on means “we.” In careful spelling, que becomes qu’ before the vowel of on. For example: Est-ce qu’on a du temps ? — “Do we have time?” a is the present-tense form of avoir (“to have”) used with il, elle, or on. Thus on a means “we have” in this sentence, even though the verb form is grammatically the same as the third-person singular forms. The infinitive is avoir; its first-person plural form is nous avons, as in Nous avons des marqueurs. — “We have markers.” marqueurs means “markers” here. It is the plural of marqueur; the final -s marks the written plural and is normally not pronounced. The singular would be un marqueur (“a marker”), while des marqueurs means “markers” without specifying a number. For example: J’ai un marqueur. — “I have a marker.” Together, Est-ce qu’on a des marqueurs ? asks whether the group referred to by on has any markers: “Do we have markers?”

6. Ils sont sur la table.

   They're on the table.

   Ils sont

   they are

   sur

   on

   table

   table

   More detail

   Ils sont means “they are” here. Ils is the third-person plural subject pronoun; its specific referent is not identified by the supplied sentence. Sont is the present-tense third-person plural form of être (“to be”): je suis, tu es, il/elle est, ils/elles sont. Example: Ils sont ici. — “They are here.” sur means “on” in this sentence and introduces the location of something relative to a surface. Example: Le livre est sur la table. — “The book is on the table.” table is the noun “table.” French nouns have grammatical gender: table is feminine, so the phrase uses la table (“the table”). The noun itself remains table whether it is singular or plural; the plural is tables. Example: Les tables sont près de la fenêtre. — “The tables are near the window.” Together, Ils sont + sur + la table gives Ils sont sur la table.: “They’re on the table.” The location phrase says where the plural subject is, while sont expresses its present state or location.

7. Est-ce qu'il y a de la place pour bouger ?

   Is there space to move around?

   Est-ce qu'il y a

   is there …?

   de la place

   space; room

   bouger

   to move

   More detail

   Est-ce qu'il y a is a standard French yes/no question frame built from il y a, “there is/there are.” il y a is invariable here: il is the fixed grammatical subject of this existential expression, not a specific person. In a question, Est-ce que turns the statement into a neutral question without changing the basic meaning. Compare: Il y a une solution. — “There is a solution.” / Est-ce qu'il y a une solution ? — “Is there a solution?” de la place means “space” or “room” in this sentence. place is a feminine noun, and de la is its partitive determiner here: it presents space as an unmeasured amount rather than stating a numeric quantity. The same pattern is useful with uncountable amounts: de la place, “some space”; de l'eau, “some water.” With a specified amount, French uses a different structure, as in beaucoup de place, “a lot of space.” bouger is the infinitive “to move.” After pour in this use, the infinitive expresses the purpose or activity associated with the available space: de la place pour bouger, “space for moving around.” The verb is not inflected in this phrase because pour is followed by an infinitive. Example: J'ai besoin d'espace pour travailler. — “I need space to work.” Together, de la place pour bouger means “space to move around,” and Est-ce qu'il y a asks whether that space exists. The complete utterance therefore means, “Is there space to move around?”

8. Il y a assez de place pour marcher.

   There's enough room to walk around.

   Il y a

   there is / there are

   assez

   enough

   place

   room / space

   marcher

   to walk

   More detail

   Il y a is the fixed French existential construction meaning “there is” or “there are.” It is impersonal: il does not identify a person here, and the construction stays il y a whether the thing mentioned is singular or plural. Example: Il y a deux chaises. — “There are two chairs.” assez means “enough” or “sufficiently.” Before a noun, use assez de + noun: assez de place means “enough room.” With an adjective or adverb, assez can instead mean “sufficiently,” as in assez grand — “big enough.” place is a feminine noun meaning “room” or “space” in this context. The construction avoir de la place means “to have room,” while assez de place means “enough room.” Here, place is not a verb; it names the available space. marcher is the infinitive “to walk.” After pour, an infinitive commonly expresses purpose or what the available space permits: pour marcher means “to walk” in the phrase “enough room to walk.” The infinitive does not show a separate subject here; the person able to walk is understood from the situation. Together, Il y a assez de place says that sufficient space exists, and pour marcher specifies what that space is sufficient for. The complete utterance therefore means “There’s enough room to walk around.”