Choosing a Comfortable Chair | Learn French in English

Sentence explanations

1. Quelle chaise devrions-nous choisir ?

   Which chair should we choose?

   Quelle

   which

   chaise

   chair

   devrions-nous

   should we

   choisir

   choose

   More detail

   Quelle means “which” here and agrees with the feminine singular noun chaise: quelle chaise = “which chair.” The related masculine singular form is quel; plural forms are quels (masculine) and quelles (feminine). This word asks the listener to identify one choice from relevant options; it does not itself state a number. chaise is the feminine noun “chair.” Its plural is chaises. In French, the noun’s grammatical gender is part of the vocabulary, and it controls the form of the preceding adjective-like question word: quelle chaise, but quelles chaises. devrions-nous contains the conditional form devrions of devoir (“to have to; must; should”) plus the subject pronoun nous (“we”). In this question, the conditional expresses a proposed or advisable action, so the intended meaning is “should we,” not a firm statement that we must. Nous devrions choisir is the corresponding non-inverted word order in a statement or less formal question. In devrions, the ending -ions marks the first-person plural conditional form; inversion places nous after the verb in the question. choisir is the infinitive “to choose.” After devoir, the following verb remains in the infinitive: nous devrions choisir = “we should choose.” The infinitive is also used in forms such as choisir une chaise (“to choose a chair”). Together, Quelle chaise asks which chair is being considered, and devrions-nous choisir asks what choice would be advisable for “us.” The complete utterance is therefore: “Which chair should we choose?”

2. Celle-ci a l'air confortable.

   This one looks comfortable.

   Celle-ci

   this one

   a l'air

   looks; seems

   confortable

   comfortable

   More detail

   Celle-ci means “this one” here. It is the feminine singular demonstrative pronoun: celle refers to one feminine singular item, and -ci marks it as the one indicated as “this.” In the supplied context, it refers to the chair being considered. Compare celle-là, “that one,” for a feminine singular item indicated as more distant or contrasted. a l'air is the third-person singular present form of avoir l'air, literally “to have the appearance,” and it means “looks” or “seems” before a description. The form a is from avoir; it is not the verb être. Example: Il a l'air fatigué. — “He looks tired.” Confortable is an adjective meaning “comfortable.” Its base form is confortable; it has the same spelling for masculine and feminine singular, while the plural form is confortables. Example: Les sièges sont confortables. — “The seats are comfortable.” Together, Celle-ci a l'air confortable says that the indicated feminine singular item looks comfortable: “This one looks comfortable.”

3. L'autre chaise semble trop petite.

   The other chair seems too small.

   L'autre

   the other

   chaise

   chair

   semble

   seems

   trop

   too

   petite

   small

   More detail

   L'autre means “the other” here: it identifies one item as distinct from another already relevant item. autre is singular here; its plural form is autres, as in les autres chaises (“the other chairs”). The form autre does not mark masculine versus feminine; in this phrase, the noun chaise identifies the item as feminine, while l' is the elided form of the singular definite article before a vowel sound and does not itself show gender. chaise means “chair.” It is a feminine noun in French, so a singular adjective referring to it normally has feminine singular agreement. Example: une chaise confortable — “a comfortable chair.” semble comes from sembler, “to seem.” It is the present-tense third-person singular form, used here with the singular subject l'autre chaise. Example: La chaise semble solide. — “The chair seems sturdy.” trop means “too” when it marks an excessive degree. It comes before the adjective or other word whose degree it modifies: trop petit means “too small” for a masculine singular noun, while trop petite is the corresponding feminine singular form. petite means “small” here. It is the feminine singular form of petit, agreeing with the feminine singular noun chaise. The comparison chain is petit/petite (“small”), plus petit/plus petite (“smaller”), and le/la plus petit(e) (“the smallest”). Example: Cette chaise est petite. — “This chair is small.” Together, l'autre chaise identifies the other chair, semble presents an appearance or impression rather than a firm assertion of size, and trop petite says that its small size exceeds what is suitable in the relevant situation. The complete meaning is: “The other chair seems too small.” The wording is neutral and reusable for expressing an assessment of an object.

4. Alors, celle-ci devrait aller.

   Then this one should work.

   Alors

   then

   celle-ci

   this one

   devrait

   should

   aller

   work

   More detail

   Alors means “then” here and can also connect an inference as “so.” It appears at the beginning of the utterance, setting up the conclusion that follows. Example: Alors, on commence. — “Then, we’ll start.” celle-ci means “this one.” It is a feminine singular demonstrative pronoun: celle is the feminine singular form, and -ci marks the nearer item in a contrast such as “this one” versus “that one.” The pronoun replaces a noun rather than repeating it. Its feminine and singular marking belongs to celle-ci; it does not by itself identify the noun beyond those grammatical constraints. Example: Je prends celle-ci. — “I’ll take this one.” devrait is the third-person singular conditional-present form of devoir (“must,” “to have to”). In this utterance, the conditional gives the prediction or expectation “should,” rather than a firm assertion. The subject is celle-ci, so the form is singular. A useful contrast is doit (“must” or “has to”) versus devrait (“should” or “is expected to”). Example: Cette solution devrait fonctionner. — “This solution should work.” aller is the infinitive of aller, normally “to go.” After devoir, it remains in the infinitive. In the fixed utterance, the combination aller with the selected item means “work” or “be suitable,” not physical movement. Example: Cette taille va aller. — “This size will work.” Together, celle-ci devrait aller means “this one should work”: the feminine singular item referred to by celle-ci is expected to be suitable. Alors adds the transition “then,” producing the complete meaning: “Then this one should work.”

5. Que penses-tu de la couleur vive ?

   What do you think of the bright color?

   Que

   what

   penses-tu

   do you think

   de

   of; about

   couleur

   color

   vive

   bright; vivid

   More detail

   Que means “what” here and asks for the thing being thought about. In this question, it is an interrogative pronoun: Que penses-tu de… ? is a reusable pattern meaning “What do you think of…?” penses-tu comes from penser, “to think.” penses is the present-tense form for tu (you, singular), and -tu is placed after the verb because this is formal written question inversion. In more conversational French, the same question can be phrased Tu penses quoi de… ? or Qu’est-ce que tu penses de… ? without changing the intended meaning. de links penser to the subject being evaluated: penser de quelque chose means “to think of/about something.” This is the relevant construction here; it does not itself mean “about” in every possible context. couleur means “color.” It is a feminine noun: une couleur, “a color.” For example, J’aime cette couleur. means “I like this color.” vive means “bright” or “vivid” in this sentence, describing the color’s strong, noticeable appearance. It is the feminine singular form of the adjective vif; vif is masculine singular, while vive agrees with feminine singular couleur. This adjective can have other meanings in other contexts, but “bright/vivid” is the intended sense here. Together, Que penses-tu de means “What do you think of,” and la couleur vive means “the bright color.” The complete utterance is therefore: “What do you think of the bright color?”

6. Elle rend la chaise facile à repérer.

   It makes the chair easy to spot.

   Elle

   it

   rend

   makes

   chaise

   chair

   facile

   easy

   repérer

   spot

   More detail

   Elle is a third-person singular feminine subject pronoun. Here it means “it,” referring to a feminine singular entity understood from the context; the sentence itself does not need to repeat that entity. Other forms include il for a masculine singular referent and elles for feminine plural referents. rend is the present-tense third-person singular form of rendre (“to make” in this construction). The useful pattern is rendre + object + adjective: it describes a change or result caused by the subject. For example: Cette lampe rend la pièce agréable. — “This lamp makes the room pleasant.” la chaise means “the chair.” Chaise is a feminine singular noun, shown by the article la; its plural is les chaises. The definite article presents the chair as identifiable in the situation, rather than merely introducing an unspecified chair. facile means “easy.” It is the adjective in facile à + infinitive, a pattern meaning “easy to [do something].” Facile has the same form for masculine and feminine singular nouns; its plural form is faciles. For example: Ce texte est facile à comprendre. — “This text is easy to understand.” repérer is the infinitive “to spot” or “to locate.” In facile à repérer, the infinitive names the action that is easy to carry out. The infinitive is not marked for a particular subject here; the construction describes what can be done with the chair. Together, Elle rend gives the subject’s effect, la chaise is the object affected, and facile à repérer describes the resulting property: “It makes the chair easy to spot.”

7. Choisissons cette chaise.

   Let's choose this chair.

   Choisissons

   let's choose

   cette

   this

   chaise

   chair

   More detail

   Choisissons is the first-person plural imperative of choisir (“to choose”). It proposes an action involving the speaker and at least one other person: “Let’s choose.” The infinitive is choisir; the corresponding second-person singular imperative is choisis, while choisissons is the form used for “let’s …”. cette means “this” here. It is the feminine singular form of the demonstrative determiner and agrees with the feminine singular noun chaise. French also has ce before a masculine singular noun, cet before a masculine singular noun beginning with a vowel sound, and ces for plural nouns. The determiner identifies the chair as the one intended in the situation; its grammatical form is feminine singular because of chaise. chaise means “chair.” It is a feminine singular noun: une chaise means “a chair,” and des chaises means “chairs.” The phrase cette chaise therefore means “this chair.” Together, Choisissons cette chaise forms an imperative proposal: “Let’s choose this chair.” The speaker proposes that the group select the particular chair referred to by cette chaise.

8. Je vais la déplacer ici.

   I will move it over here.

   Je vais

   I will

   la

   it

   déplacer

   move

   ici

   here

   More detail

   Je vais is a reusable way to express an action that is about to happen or is planned: aller in the present tense + an infinitive. Here vais is the first-person singular form of aller, so Je vais déplacer... means “I will / I am going to move...”. This is not the simple future form of déplacer; the future meaning comes from the construction je vais + infinitive. la is a direct-object pronoun meaning “it” here. It is feminine singular in form, and it appears before the infinitive: Je vais la déplacer. The translation does not specify the object's name, so the pronoun can be explained here only as the thing being moved. Compare le for a masculine singular object and les for plural objects. The feminine form la becomes l’ before a vowel sound, as in Je vais l’ouvrir (“I am going to open it”). déplacer is the infinitive “to move”. Its base form is the form used after vais; the object pronoun still comes before it. Example: Je vais déplacer la table. — “I am going to move the table.” ici is the adverb “here”, indicating the place toward or at which the object will be moved. Example: Pose-le ici. — “Put it here.” Together, Je vais + la + déplacer + ici means “I will move it over here.” The structure is subject + aller in the present + direct-object pronoun + infinitive + place adverb: Je vais la déplacer ici.