Checking a Simple Order | Learn French in English

Sentence explanations

1. Vérifions la commande.

   Let's check the order.

   Vérifions

   let’s check

   commande

   order

   More detail

   Vérifions is the first-person plural imperative of vérifier (“to check”). It proposes a joint action: “let’s check,” with the speaker included and directed toward one or more other people. The imperative form is vérifions; the ordinary present-tense form with nous has the same written form, so the surrounding sentence determines whether it is a statement or a suggestion. commande means “order” here, in the sense of something ordered from a shop, restaurant, or service. Its base noun is commande, a feminine noun; la commande is the singular definite-noun pattern “the order.” The article marks a specific order in this context, not a numeric quantity. Example: Je vérifie la commande. — “I’m checking the order.” Together, Vérifions la commande forms an imperative with an implicit nous subject: “Let’s check the order.”

2. Les boissons sont ici.

   The drinks are here.

   boissons

   drinks

   sont

   are

   ici

   here

   More detail

   boissons means “drinks” here. It is the plural of the feminine noun boisson (“drink”). The plural is marked by -s; the written singular and plural are often pronounced alike: une boisson, des boissons. Example: Les boissons sont froides. — “The drinks are cold.” sont is the present-tense form of être (“to be”) for a third-person plural subject. The form agrees with the plural subject les boissons. Compare La boisson est ici. — “The drink is here”: est is the third-person singular form, while sont is plural. ici is the adverb “here,” indicating the relevant location. It does not change for number or gender. Example: Les clés sont ici. — “The keys are here.” Together, Les boissons (“the drinks”) is the plural subject, sont expresses their present location, and ici gives that location. The complete utterance means “The drinks are here.”

3. Est-ce qu'on a aussi la nourriture ?

   Do we have the food too?

   Est-ce qu'on

   Do we…? / Is it that we…?

   a

   have

   aussi

   too / also

   nourriture

   food

   More detail

   Est-ce qu'on is a common way to form a yes/no question in French. Est-ce que introduces the question, and on is the subject; here, the fixed translation shows that on means “we.” In other contexts, on can refer to people generally, but that is not the meaning here. Example: Est-ce qu'on part ? — “Are we leaving?” a is the present-tense form of avoir (“to have”) for il, elle, and on. The useful chain is avoir → on a (“we have”). Example: On a du pain. — “We have some bread.” aussi means “too” or “also.” It adds this item to something already under discussion; the preceding sentence mentions drinks, so the question asks whether food is included as well. Example: J'ai aussi de l'eau. — “I also have water.” nourriture is the noun “food.” In this sentence, la nourriture means “the food,” with la marking a definite noun phrase; the article is not itself a numeric count. Example: La nourriture est ici. — “The food is here.” Together, Est-ce qu'on a asks “Do we have…?”, aussi adds “too,” and la nourriture supplies what is being asked about. The complete meaning is: “Do we have the food too?”

4. C'est dans ce sac.

   It's in this bag.

   C'est

   it's

   dans

   in

   ce

   this

   sac

   bag

   More detail

   C'est is the written form of ce + est (“it is”/“this is”). In this sentence it introduces the location of the item referred to by “it.” The form est is the third-person singular present form of être (“to be”): je suis, tu es, il/elle est. The apostrophe marks the elision of ce before est; do not treat c'est as a single verb. dans means “in” and introduces the container or place where something is located. A reusable pattern is être dans + place: Le livre est dans le sac. — “The book is in the bag.” ce is the masculine singular demonstrative determiner meaning “this” here. It agrees with the noun it determines: ce sac (“this bag”). Before a masculine singular noun beginning with a vowel sound, the corresponding form is cet; the feminine singular form is cette, and the plural form is ces. sac is the masculine noun “bag.” Its plural is sacs, written with a final s: un sac, des sacs. In ce sac, the demonstrative identifies the bag as “this” bag. Together, C'est + dans ce sac gives “It is in this bag.” The sentence states the item's location: the item is inside the bag identified as “this bag.”

5. Est-ce que tout est correct ?

   Is everything correct?

   Est-ce que

   question marker

   tout

   everything

   est

   is

   correct

   correct

   More detail

   Est-ce que introduces a direct yes/no question in French. It is a fixed question pattern placed before the statement, without changing the normal subject–verb order. For example: Est-ce que tu comprends ? — “Do you understand?” tout means “everything” here. It is an indefinite pronoun referring to the situation or things being evaluated as a whole. As a determiner, the same form can appear before a noun, as in tout le jour — “the whole day”; that is a different use from the pronoun in this sentence. est is the third-person singular present form of être, “to be.” The useful present-tense contrast is je suis — “I am,” tu es — “you are,” and il/elle est — “he/she is.” Here, est agrees with the singular pronoun tout. correct is a descriptive adjective meaning “correct” or “right” in this context. It describes the state of the whole situation. The adjective has the feminine form correcte when it agrees with a feminine singular noun, while correct is the masculine singular form; agreement depends on the noun or pronoun being described, not simply on the adjective’s position. Together, tout + est + correct means “everything is correct.” Placing Est-ce que before that statement turns it into the yes/no question “Is everything correct?”

6. Ça correspond au reçu.

   It matches the receipt.

   Ça

   It

   correspond

   matches

   reçu

   receipt

   More detail

   Ça is a demonstrative pronoun meaning “it” or “that” here. It is the subject of the sentence, but the fixed sentence does not identify exactly what it refers to. Unlike a noun, ça does not show masculine or feminine agreement. Example: Ça marche. — “It works.” correspond is the third-person singular present form of correspondre, “to match” or “to correspond.” The useful pattern is quelque chose correspond à quelque chose: one thing matches or corresponds to another. The preposition is part of the construction, so French uses correspondre à, not simply correspondre followed directly by the other item. Example: Cette réponse correspond à la question. — “This answer matches the question.” reçu is a masculine singular noun meaning “receipt” in this sentence. The form can also occur in other grammatical uses, but here it is the noun after au. Au is the contraction of à and le, so au reçu means “to/with the receipt” structurally, while in this matching construction the whole phrase identifies the item that something matches. Example: Le reçu est dans le sac. — “The receipt is in the bag.” Together, Ça correspond gives “It matches,” and au reçu specifies what it matches: “the receipt.” The complete utterance therefore means “It matches the receipt.”

7. Je peux prendre les boissons.

   I can take the drinks.

   Je peux

   I can

   prendre

   take

   les boissons

   the drinks

   More detail

   Je peux means “I can” here. peux is the first-person singular present form of pouvoir (“to be able to, can”): je peux. In French, pouvoir is commonly followed by an infinitive to express ability or permission, as in Je peux venir. — “I can come.” prendre is the infinitive “to take.” It remains in the infinitive after peux; the conjugated verb carries the person and tense. Useful forms include je prends (“I take / I am taking”) and the past participle pris (“taken”): J’ai pris le livre. — “I took the book.” In this utterance, prendre has the intended sense “take,” as fixed by the translation. les boissons means “the drinks.” boissons is the plural noun boisson (“drink”); the final -s marks its plural spelling. les is the definite article used before a plural noun, for both grammatical genders: les boissons, “the drinks.” Together, Je peux prendre les boissons. forms the pattern subject + pouvoir + infinitive + definite noun phrase: “I can take the drinks.”

8. Je vais porter le sac de nourriture.

   I'll carry the food bag.

   Je vais

   I’m going to

   porter

   carry

   sac

   bag

   nourriture

   food

   More detail

   Je vais combines je (“I”) with the first-person singular present form vais of aller (“to go”). Before an infinitive, this construction expresses the near future: aller + infinitive means “be going to do.” Here, vais is not the action “carry”; porter supplies that action. Example: Je vais manger. — “I’m going to eat.” porter is the infinitive meaning “to carry.” Its subject is understood from je vais, so the meaning is “I am going to carry.” The same infinitive can follow other forms of aller: Nous allons porter le sac. — “We are going to carry the bag.” sac is a masculine noun meaning “bag.” The definite article le marks this as a specific bag in the utterance; un sac would mean “a bag.” The phrase le sac therefore means “the bag.” nourriture is a feminine noun meaning “food.” In de nourriture, de links the noun to the bag and gives the type or contents: “food.” Thus le sac de nourriture means “the food bag” or, more literally, “the bag of food.” Together, Je vais + porter forms the near-future meaning “I’m going to carry.” The object is le sac de nourriture, “the food bag,” so the complete utterance means: “I’ll carry the food bag.”