Choosing a Simple Activity | Learn French in English

Sentence explanations

1. Quelle activité devrions-nous faire ?

   What activity should we do?

   Quelle

   what / which

   activité

   activity

   devrions-nous

   should we

   faire

   do

   More detail

   Quelle means “what/which” here and is the feminine singular form of the interrogative determiner quel. It agrees with the noun activité, which is feminine singular: quel (masculine singular), quelle (feminine singular), quels (masculine plural), quelles (feminine plural). For example, Quelle langue apprenez-vous ? means “Which language are you learning?” activité is a feminine noun meaning “activity.” Its plural is activités. The feminine gender belongs to this noun and helps determine the form quelle; it does not describe the activity itself. For example, Cette activité est simple. means “This activity is simple.” devrions-nous combines the verb devoir with the subject pronoun nous. The form devrions is the first-person plural conditional present of devoir; with nous, it expresses a suggestion or what would be advisable: “should we.” In a question, French commonly places the pronoun after the verb with a hyphen: devrions-nous. Compare Nous devrions partir. — “We should leave.” faire is the infinitive of the verb meaning “to do” or “to make.” Here it follows the conjugated form of devoir: devoir + infinitive, as in Nous devrions attendre. — “We should wait.” The infinitive remains faire rather than changing to agree with nous. Together, Quelle activité asks which activity is being considered, devrions-nous asks what would be advisable for the speaker and the other participant or participants, and faire supplies the action. The complete utterance means: “What activity should we do?”

2. On pourrait marcher dehors.

   We could walk outside.

   On pourrait

   we could

   marcher

   to walk

   dehors

   outside

   More detail

   On pourrait means “we could” here. on is a subject pronoun that can refer to people including the speaker and listener; the fixed translation identifies that reading in this sentence. pourrait is the conditional form of pouvoir (“can, to be able to”): il/elle/on pourrait. The conditional presents the possibility or option “could,” rather than stating that the walking will happen. Compare on peut (“we can” / “we are able to”) for present ability or possibility. marcher is the infinitive “to walk.” It follows the conjugated form pourrait; after pouvoir, the following verb is normally in the infinitive. For example, On pourrait rester. means “We could stay.” dehors is an adverb meaning “outside” or “outdoors.” It describes where the walking would take place. It does not change form for the people involved. The same word appears in faire froid dehors, “be cold outside,” in the supplied context. Together, on pourrait + infinitive expresses a possible action: On pourrait marcher means “We could walk.” Adding dehors specifies the location, producing the complete meaning “We could walk outside.”

3. Il peut faire froid dehors.

   It may be cold out there.

   peut

   may

   faire froid

   be cold

   dehors

   outside; out there

   More detail

   peut is the present-tense third-person singular form of pouvoir. In this sentence, with the following infinitive, it expresses possibility: “may.” The same form can also mean “can” when the context is ability or permission; here the fixed translation selects the possibility meaning. Pattern: il peut + infinitive = “it may/he may be able to …,” with the exact meaning supplied by context. faire froid is a reusable French weather expression meaning “to be cold.” faire is the infinitive “to do/make,” but in this expression it does not describe an ordinary person doing something: it is the verb used to describe weather conditions. The adjective froid means “cold” here. Pattern: Il fait froid = “It is cold,” and Il peut faire froid adds possibility: “It may be cold.” dehors is an adverb meaning “outside” or, in this sentence, “out there.” It identifies the location of the weather condition. Unlike a noun, it does not need an article. Example: Il fait chaud dehors. — “It is hot outside.” Together, Il peut faire froid dehors means “It may be cold out there.” Il is the impersonal subject used in this weather expression; it does not identify a particular person. peut marks the possibility, faire froid describes the cold weather, and dehors places that condition outside.

4. Alors, on peut lire à l'intérieur.

   Then we can read inside.

   Alors

   then

   on peut

   we can

   lire

   read

   à l'intérieur

   inside

   More detail

   Alors means “then” here and commonly links the utterance to what has just been said. It can also introduce a conclusion or transition, so its exact English rendering depends on context. on peut combines the subject pronoun on with peut, the present-tense form of pouvoir (“to be able to,” “can”) used with on. In this sentence, on is understood as “we,” as confirmed by the fixed translation. Although on takes a third-person singular verb form, its meaning can refer to a group including the speaker. The pattern on peut + infinitive means “we can ...” or “it is possible for us to ...”. Example: On peut attendre. — “We can wait.” lire is the infinitive “to read.” After pouvoir, the following verb stays in the infinitive: peut lire, “can read.” The infinitive does not show the subject or tense here; peut carries the present-tense and subject-form information. Example: Nous pouvons lire. — “We can read.” à l'intérieur is a locative expression meaning “inside” or “indoors.” à is followed here by l'intérieur, where l' is the elided form of the definite article before a vowel sound. The expression can describe a location without specifying a particular interior object in this sentence. Example: Il reste à l'intérieur. — “He stays inside.” Together, Alors sets the transition, on peut lire says that we are able or permitted to read, and à l'intérieur gives the location. The whole utterance means: “Then we can read inside.”

5. Lire est mieux aujourd'hui.

   Reading sounds better today.

   Lire

   reading; to read

   mieux

   better

   aujourd'hui

   today

   More detail

   Lire is the infinitive of lire, “to read.” Here it acts as the subject of the sentence, so the activity itself is being evaluated. French commonly uses an infinitive this way: Marcher est agréable. means “Walking is pleasant.” The infinitive does not identify a particular reader. mieux means “better” here. It is the comparative form of the adverb bien (“well”): bien → mieux. Because it modifies the linking verb phrase rather than a noun, it describes how the activity is judged, not the qualities of a thing. For example, Il travaille mieux aujourd'hui. means “He works better today.” aujourd'hui means “today” and places the evaluation in the current day. It is written with an apostrophe and does not change form. For example, Je reste ici aujourd'hui. means “I am staying here today.” The word est is a form of être (“to be”): il/elle/on est. In this sentence it links the subject Lire with the evaluation mieux. Together, Lire est mieux aujourd'hui means “Reading sounds better today,” or more literally, “Reading is better today.” The sentence evaluates reading as a better option or experience today, without specifying what it is being compared with.

6. Choisissons une pièce calme.

   Let's choose a quiet room.

   Choisissons

   let’s choose

   pièce

   room

   calme

   quiet

   More detail

   Choisissons is the first-person plural imperative of choisir (“to choose”): it addresses a group that includes the speaker and means “let’s choose.” The imperative has no written subject here. Compare nous choisissons (“we choose” / “we are choosing”), which has the explicit subject nous and is not an instruction. The useful pattern is Choisissons + noun: “Let’s choose …” Example: Choisissons une date. — “Let’s choose a date.” pièce is a feminine noun meaning “room” in this sentence. The feminine article appears as une, as in une pièce; the article marks the noun’s grammatical gender, not a stated numerical count. Pièce can have other meanings in other contexts, but “room” is the meaning supported here. Example: La pièce est grande. — “The room is large.” calme means “quiet” here. It is an adjective placed after pièce and agrees with that noun. Its spelling is the same in the singular masculine and feminine; in the plural it is calmes. The adjective’s base form is calme, not pièce. Example: une rue calme — “a quiet street.” Together, une pièce calme means “a quiet room”: the indefinite article introduces the feminine noun, and calme describes it. With the imperative Choisissons, the complete utterance is “Let’s choose a quiet room.”

7. Je vais apporter mon livre.

   I'll bring my book.

   Je vais

   I’m going to; I will

   apporter

   bring

   mon

   my

   livre

   book

   More detail

   Je vais combines the present-tense form vais of aller (“to go”) with an infinitive to express the near future: “I am going to …” or, as here, “I will …”. The subject je means “I”, and vais is the first-person singular form; other subjects use forms such as tu vas (“you are going”) and il/elle va (“he/she is going”). apporter means “to bring” when the thing is carried or brought to a destination or person. It is an infinitive here because it follows vais: Je vais apporter… means “I will bring…”. Do not confuse it with apporter's commonly contrasted verb amener, which is generally used for bringing a person or animal rather than an object. mon is a singular possessive determiner meaning “my” before a masculine singular noun. It agrees with the possessed noun, not with the owner: mon livre is “my book”. Before a feminine singular noun, French normally uses ma, as in the example ma place (“my spot”); before a plural noun, it uses mes, as in mes livres (“my books”). livre means “book” here. It is a masculine singular noun, so the matching possessive determiner is mon. Its plural is livres, “books”. Together, Je vais + apporter forms the near-future pattern “I will bring”, and mon livre identifies the object as “my book”. The complete utterance therefore means “I’ll bring my book.”

8. Je vais trouver une place pour nous.

   I'll find a spot for us.

   Je vais

   I’m going to

   trouver

   find

   place

   spot; place

   pour nous

   for us

   More detail

   Je vais is the first-person singular present form of aller, “to go.” With an infinitive, it forms the near future: je vais + infinitive means “I am going to …” or “I’ll …”. The subject is je, and vais agrees with that subject. Example: Je vais venir. — “I’m going to come.” trouver is the infinitive meaning “to find.” After the conjugated form vais, it stays in the infinitive rather than being conjugated again. The reusable pattern is je vais trouver — “I’m going to find” or “I’ll find.” place is a feminine noun meaning “place” or, in this sentence, “spot.” The feminine article appears as une in une place; une marks the noun as indefinite but does not by itself state a numerical count. Example: Je cherche une place. — “I’m looking for a spot.” pour nous means “for us.” pour introduces the intended beneficiary or recipient, and nous is the first-person plural pronoun. Example: C’est pour nous. — “It’s for us.” Together, Je vais trouver expresses the speaker’s planned or imminent action, une place is what the speaker will find, and pour nous identifies who the spot is intended for. The complete meaning is: “I’ll find a spot for us.”