Choosing a Comfortable Chair | Learn French in English

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Use Choosing a Comfortable Chair to practice French conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.

Dialogue

Quelle chaise devrions-nous choisir ?

KEL SHEHZ duh-vree-YON noo shwah-ZEER Which chair should we choose?

Celle-ci a l'air confortable.

sell-SEE ah LAIR kohn-for-TAHBL This one looks comfortable.

L'autre chaise semble trop petite.

LOHTR SHEHZ SAHMBL troh puh-TEET The other chair seems too small.

Alors, celle-ci devrait aller.

ah-LOR sell-SEE duh-VREH ah-LAY Then this one should work.

Que penses-tu de la couleur vive ?

kuh PAHNS-tew duh lah koo-LUR VEEV What do you think of the bright color?

Elle rend la chaise facile à repérer.

ell RAHN lah SHEHZ fah-SEEL ah ruh-pay-RAY It makes the chair easy to spot.

Choisissons cette chaise.

shwah-zee-SON SET SHEHZ Let's choose this chair.

Je vais la déplacer ici.

zhuh VEH lah day-plah-SAY ee-SEE I will move it over here.

Word by Word

Quelle “Quelle” means “which” in “Quelle chaise devrions-nous choisir ?” It agrees with the feminine noun “chaise” and identifies the chair being selected. A reliable reuse pattern is “Quelle” followed by a noun when asking which one.

chaise “chaise” means “chair” in “Quelle chaise devrions-nous choisir ?” It names the object the speakers are choosing. It can be reused in the phrase “cette chaise” when referring to a specific chair.

devrions-nous “devrions-nous” means “should we” in “Quelle chaise devrions-nous choisir ?” The citation form is “devoir”; this is its form with “nous” in an inverted question. It is useful when asking together what choice to make.

choisir “choisir” means “to choose” in “Quelle chaise devrions-nous choisir ?” It is the infinitive that follows “devrions-nous” and names the action under consideration. A reliable reuse pattern is to use it after a form of “devoir” when discussing what should be chosen.

Celle-ci “Celle-ci” means “this one” in “Celle-ci a l'air confortable.” It refers here to the chair that is being considered. It is useful when pointing out one specific option among several.

a l'air In “Celle-ci a l'air confortable,” “a l'air” means “looks” or “seems.” The construction as a whole describes how something appears: “a” is the verb form and “l'air” is part of this expression. A reliable reuse pattern is “a l'air” followed by an adjective to describe an apparent quality.

confortable “confortable” means “comfortable” in “Celle-ci a l'air confortable.” It describes the chair’s apparent quality in this conversation. It can be reused after “a l'air” to describe how something seems.

L'autre “L'autre” means “the other” in “L'autre chaise semble trop petite.” It identifies the chair that is different from the one already being considered. The shortened form “L'” appears before “autre”; a reliable reuse pattern is “L'autre” followed by a noun.

semble “semble” means “seems” in “L'autre chaise semble trop petite.” The citation form is “sembler”; “semble” is the form used with “L'autre chaise.” It can be reused before an adjective when describing an impression or appearance.

trop “trop” means “too” in “semble trop petite.” It shows that the chair is small beyond what is suitable for the choice. A reliable reuse pattern is “trop” followed by an adjective.

petite “petite” means “small” in “L'autre chaise semble trop petite.” Its form matches “chaise” in this sentence. It can be reused in “trop petite” when describing a chair that is too small.

Alors “Alors” means “then” or “so” in “Alors, celle-ci devrait aller.” It introduces the conclusion that follows the comment about the other chair. It is useful at the beginning of a response when moving from a situation to a decision.

devrait “devrait” contributes “should” in “celle-ci devrait aller,” expressing that this chair is expected to be suitable. The citation form is “devoir”; “devrait” is the form used with “celle-ci.” Here it is followed by “aller,” which completes the idea that the choice will work.

aller In “celle-ci devrait aller,” “aller” means “work” or “be suitable,” rather than simply describing movement. It completes the expression after “devrait,” while “devrait” contributes the idea of expectation. This is useful when assessing whether an option will work.

Que “Que” means “what” in “Que penses-tu de la couleur vive ?” It begins the question about the other person’s opinion. A reliable reuse pattern is “Que” at the start of a question asking what someone thinks.

penses-tu “penses-tu” means “do you think” in “Que penses-tu de la couleur vive ?” The citation form is “penser”; “penses-tu” uses question inversion with “tu.” It can be reused in the pattern “penses-tu de” when asking for an opinion about something.

de “de” links the opinion phrase to its subject in “Que penses-tu de la couleur vive ?” Here it introduces the color being evaluated. A reliable reuse pattern is “penser de” followed by the thing someone is asking about.

la “la” means “the” in “la couleur vive.” It identifies the specific color being discussed. It is reused directly before “couleur” in this expression.

couleur “couleur” means “color” in “la couleur vive.” It names the feature of the chair that the speakers are evaluating. It can be reused with an adjective, as in “la couleur vive,” to describe a particular color.

vive “vive” means “bright” in “la couleur vive.” It is the form of “vif” used with “couleur” and describes the color as noticeable or strong. A reliable reuse pattern is a noun followed by an adjective to describe its quality.

Elle “Elle” means “it” here in “Elle rend la chaise facile à repérer.” It refers back to “la couleur,” not to the chair, and is the subject of “rend.” It can be reused as a subject pronoun for a feminine noun already mentioned.

rend “rend” contributes “makes” in “Elle rend la chaise facile à repérer.” The citation form is “rendre”; “rend” is used with the subject “Elle.” The sentence uses a reliable pattern in which an object is described as becoming easy to do something with.

facile “facile” means “easy” in “facile à repérer.” It describes how simple it is to spot the chair. A reliable reuse pattern is “facile à” followed by an infinitive describing the action.

à “à” links “facile” to the action in “facile à repérer.” Together, these words express that the chair is easy to spot. It can be reused between an adjective such as “facile” and an infinitive.

repérer “repérer” means “to spot” or “to identify” in “facile à repérer.” It names the action that is easy because of the bright color. It can be reused after “facile à” when identifying something.

Choisissons “Choisissons” means “let’s choose” in “Choisissons cette chaise.” The citation form is “choisir”; this form presents the choice as a suggestion for the speakers together. It is useful when proposing a shared decision.

cette “cette” means “this” in “cette chaise.” It identifies one specific chair near or under consideration. It can be reused directly before a feminine singular noun such as “chaise.”

Je “Je” means “I” in “Je vais la déplacer ici.” It marks the speaker as the person who will move the chair. It can be reused as the subject at the start of a statement about the speaker’s action.

vais “vais” is the “je” form of “aller” in “Je vais la déplacer ici.” Here it combines with the infinitive “déplacer” to express an intended upcoming action. A reliable reuse pattern is “Je vais” followed by an infinitive, with an object pronoun placed before that infinitive when needed.

déplacer “déplacer” means “to move” in “Je vais la déplacer ici.” It is the infinitive that names the action the speaker intends to perform, with “la” referring to the chair. It can be reused after “Je vais” to describe an upcoming movement.

ici “ici” means “here” in “Je vais la déplacer ici.” It identifies the place where the chair will be moved. It is useful as a location word when indicating where something should be placed.

Grammar Points

Quelle + nom + inversion verbale ?

Quelle chaise devrions-nous choisir ?

KEL SHEHZ duh-vree-YON noo shwah-ZEER

Which chair should we choose?

In French questions, the subject pronoun follows the verb: devrions-nous.

avoir l'air + adjectif

Celle-ci a l'air confortable.

sell-SEE ah LAIR kohn-for-TAHBL

This one looks comfortable.

Avoir l'air means “to look” or “to seem” and is followed by an adjective.

French Vocabulary

a l'air phrase

ah LAIR looks

Celle-ci a l'air confortable.

alors adv

ah-LOR then

Alors, celle-ci devrait aller.

celle-ci pron

sell-SEE this one

Celle-ci a l'air confortable.

chaise noun

SHEHZ chair

Quelle chaise devrions-nous choisir ?

choisir verb

shwah-ZEER to choose

Quelle chaise devrions-nous choisir ?

confortable adj

kohn-for-TAHBL comfortable

Celle-ci a l'air confortable.

devrions-nous verb

duh-vree-YON noo should we

Quelle chaise devrions-nous choisir ?

l'autre det

LOHTR the other

L'autre chaise semble trop petite.

petite adj

puh-TEET small

L'autre chaise semble trop petite.

quelle det

KEL which Quelle

Quelle chaise devrions-nous choisir ?

semble verb

SAHMBL seems

L'autre chaise semble trop petite.

trop adv

TROH too

L'autre chaise semble trop petite.

Quiz

Word Order

Arrange the words in the correct order.

Which chair should we choose?

Show Answer

Quelle chaise devrions-nous choisir ?

This one looks comfortable.

Show Answer

Celle-ci a l'air confortable.

The other chair seems too small.

Show Answer

L'autre chaise semble trop petite.

Spelling

Tap the letters to spell the word.

chair

Show Answer

chaise

comfortable

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confortable

seems

Show Answer

semble

which

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Quelle