Keeping a shared kitchen clean | Learn French in English

Sentence explanations

1. Je peux laver ma tasse ici ?

   Can I wash my cup here?

   Je peux

   I can; may I

   laver

   wash

   ma

   my

   tasse

   cup

   ici

   here

   More detail

   Je peux combines the subject pronoun je (“I”) with peux, the first-person singular present form of pouvoir (“to be able to; can”). In this question, the fixed translation shows that it asks for permission: “May I…?” The following verb stays in the infinitive after pouvoir. Example: Je peux entrer ? — “May I come in?” laver means “to wash.” It is the infinitive form, used here after peux. The same infinitive can follow other forms of pouvoir: Tu peux laver la tasse. — “You can wash the cup.” ma means “my” before a singular feminine noun. Its form agrees with the possessed noun, not with the speaker: ma tasse is “my cup.” Before a singular masculine noun, the corresponding form is mon, as in mon livre — “my book.” tasse means “cup.” It is a feminine noun in French, which is why the possessive form here is ma. Example: La tasse est propre. — “The cup is clean.” ici means “here,” referring to the place where the washing would happen. It is an adverb and does not change for gender or number. Together, Je peux + laver asks whether the speaker is permitted to wash, ma tasse identifies the object as the speaker’s cup, and ici specifies the place. The complete meaning is: “Can I wash my cup here?”

2. Utilise l'évier à gauche.

   Use the sink on the left.

   Utilise

   use

   l'évier

   the sink

   à gauche

   on the left

   More detail

   Utilise is the imperative form of utiliser (“to use”) for one person addressed with tu. The same verb appears in other useful forms such as j'utilise (“I use”) and utilisez (“you use/use,” for vous, including a plural or formal addressee). Example: Utilise cette tasse. — “Use this cup.” l'évier means “the sink” here. The base noun is évier, a masculine noun; l' is the elided form of the definite article le before a vowel sound. The article marks a specific sink in the situation, not a numeric quantity. Example: L'évier est propre. — “The sink is clean.” à gauche means “on the left” or “to the left.” à introduces the location, and gauche identifies the left-hand side; this is a reusable location phrase. Example: La porte est à gauche. — “The door is on the left.” Together, the imperative Utilise gives the instruction, l'évier names the object to use, and à gauche locates that object. The complete meaning is: “Use the sink on the left.”

3. Je veux garder l'espace propre.

   I want to keep the space clean.

   Je veux

   I want

   garder

   to keep

   l'espace

   the space

   propre

   clean

   More detail

   Je veux combines the subject pronoun je (“I”) with veux, the first-person singular present form of vouloir (“to want”). Vouloir is followed by an infinitive when the person who wants something is also the person doing the action: Je veux partir. — “I want to leave.” The form veux is specific to je; for example, tu veux means “you want.” garder is an infinitive meaning “to keep” here, in the sense of maintaining something in a condition. After veux, it names the action wanted: Je veux garder la porte ouverte. — “I want to keep the door open.” l'espace means “the space.” The noun is espace; l' is the definite article le elided before the vowel sound at the beginning of espace. Espace is masculine, but the article is shortened to l' in this environment. The same elision appears in l'évier (“the sink”) in the preceding sentence. propre means “clean” here. It is an adjective describing l'espace, and its singular masculine form is propre. The feminine singular has the same spelling, while the plural form is propres: une table propre — “a clean table”; des espaces propres — “clean spaces.” Together, Je veux garder l'espace propre means “I want to keep the space clean.” The pattern is Je veux + infinitive + object + adjective: the speaker wants to maintain the space in a clean condition.

4. S'il te plaît, essuie la table quand tu as fini.

   Please wipe the table after you finish.

   S'il te plaît

   please

   essuie

   wipe

   table

   table

   quand tu as fini

   when you have finished

   More detail

   S'il te plaît is a fixed polite expression meaning “please.” It literally contains plaît, from plaire (“to please”), but learn the whole expression as the ordinary way to make a request politely. With more than one person, the corresponding expression is s'il vous plaît. essuie means “wipe” here. It is the imperative form of essuyer for tu, so it gives a direct instruction to one person. The same verb in a non-command sentence can appear as tu essuies (“you wipe”), while the command is essuie. Example: Essuie la chaise. — “Wipe the chair.” table is the noun “table.” In the sentence, la marks it as a feminine singular noun phrase: la table means “the table.” The noun itself is table; the article is a separate word and does not express a number by itself beyond the singular noun phrase in this context. quand tu as fini means “when you have finished.” quand introduces a time clause. tu is the familiar singular “you,” and as fini is the tu form of avoir plus the past participle fini, expressing completion: literally, “you have finished.” The subject of this clause is the person being addressed, matching the tu in the request. Example: Appelle-moi quand tu as fini. — “Call me when you have finished.” Together, essuie la table gives the requested action, and quand tu as fini specifies that it should happen once the addressee has finished. The complete utterance is therefore a polite instruction: “Please wipe the table after you finish.”

5. Les déchets vont dans cette poubelle ?

   Does trash go in this bin?

   déchets

   trash; waste

   vont

   go

   dans

   in; into

   cette

   this

   poubelle

   bin; trash can

   More detail

   déchets means waste or trash here. It is the plural of déchet (“piece of waste” or “waste item”); the plural ending shows that the subject is treated as more than one waste item. In this sentence, the English translation naturally uses the mass noun “trash.” Example: Les déchets sont sur la table. — “The waste is on the table.” vont is the present-tense form of aller (“to go”) for ils/elles (“they”). The subject here is Les déchets, so the plural form vont is required. aller dans can describe movement into a place or container, including waste going into a bin. Example: Ils vont dans la boîte. — “They go in the box.” dans means “in” or “into,” depending on whether the sentence emphasizes location or movement. With vont, it introduces the destination or container: vont dans cette poubelle means “go in/into this bin.” Example: Le livre va dans le sac. — “The book goes in the bag.” cette means “this” before a feminine singular noun. It agrees with poubelle; its form does not itself state who or what is being indicated. The common demonstrative forms are ce before a masculine singular noun, cette before a feminine singular noun, and ces with plural nouns. Example: cette boîte — “this box.” poubelle means “bin,” “trash can,” or “wastebasket.” It is a feminine singular noun, which is why the phrase uses cette poubelle. Example: La poubelle est pleine. — “The bin is full.” Together, Les déchets is the subject, vont expresses going, and dans cette poubelle gives the destination: “in/into this bin.” French keeps the ordinary statement order, Les déchets vont dans cette poubelle, and the question mark plus rising question intonation turns it into a question: “Does trash go in this bin?” This is a neutral everyday way to ask whether that bin is the appropriate place for the trash.

6. Mets-les dans la poubelle près de la porte.

   Put it in the bin by the door.

   Mets-les

   put them

   dans

   in

   la poubelle

   the bin

   près de

   near

   la porte

   the door

   More detail

   Mets-les means “put them” here. mets is the imperative form of mettre for tu; the infinitive is mettre. In the imperative, the object pronoun follows the verb and is joined with a hyphen: Mets-les. The -les form is a direct-object pronoun referring to a plural object. Example: Mets-les ici. — “Put them here.” dans introduces the container or place where something is put. It commonly corresponds to “in” when the location is inside something. Example: Mets le livre dans le sac. — “Put the book in the bag.” la poubelle means “the bin.” poubelle is a feminine noun, so the definite article is la; its plural is les poubelles. Example: La poubelle est pleine. — “The bin is full.” près de means “near” or “close to.” It is a prepositional expression; de remains part of the expression before the location: près de la porte. Example: Le sac est près de la fenêtre. — “The bag is near the window.” la porte means “the door.” porte is a feminine noun, hence la; its plural is les portes. Example: La porte est ouverte. — “The door is open.” Together, the target sentence has the structure Mets-les dans la poubelle près de la porte: “Put them in the bin near the door.” The command tells the listener to place a plural direct object inside the bin, and identifies the bin by its location near the door. There is an unresolved number mismatch between the fixed texts: the target uses -les, explicitly marking a plural object (“them”), while the fixed translation says “it,” which is singular. The preceding context mentions les déchets (“trash/waste”), a plural expression compatible with -les, but the supplied translation does not preserve that number distinction. Therefore the target-language explanation follows the observed French form, while the exact intended number cannot be treated as fully resolved from both fixed texts.

7. Je vais m'en occuper maintenant.

   I will take care of it now.

   Je vais

   I am going to

   m'en occuper

   take care of it

   maintenant

   now

   More detail

   Je vais uses vais, the first-person singular present form of aller. With an infinitive, this forms the French near-future construction aller + infinitive: it expresses what the speaker is going to do, rather than necessarily physical movement. Here the following infinitive is occuper. m'en occuper comes from the reflexive expression s'occuper de—“to take care of” or “to deal with” something. m' is the first-person reflexive pronoun me, elided before the vowel of en; en stands for the relevant thing introduced with de. The fixed translation identifies that thing as “it,” without specifying it further. The infinitive remains occuper after the near-future auxiliary. Example: Je vais m'en occuper demain. — “I will take care of it tomorrow.” maintenant is the time adverb “now.” It places the intended action at the present moment or makes clear that the speaker will handle it without delay. Together, Je vais + m'en occuper forms the near future “I will take care of it,” and maintenant adds “now”: “I will take care of it now.”

8. Comme ça, la cuisine est prête pour tout le monde.

   That keeps the kitchen ready for everyone.

   Comme ça

   That way

   la cuisine

   the kitchen

   est

   is

   prête

   ready

   pour tout le monde

   for everyone

   More detail

   Comme ça is a reusable adverbial expression meaning “that way” or “like that.” Here it points to the way of handling the matter mentioned in the preceding sentence, without specifying that action itself. Example: Fais comme ça. — “Do it like that.” la cuisine means “the kitchen.” Cuisine is a feminine noun, so the feminine singular article la is used here. The article identifies the noun phrase; it does not by itself state a numerical quantity. Example: La cuisine est grande. — “The kitchen is large.” est is the third-person singular present form of être, “to be.” Its subject here is the singular noun phrase la cuisine. Useful forms include je suis — “I am,” tu es — “you are,” and il/elle est — “he/she is.” prête means “ready” here. It is the feminine singular form of the adjective prêt; it agrees with the feminine singular noun cuisine. The forms are prêt (masculine singular), prête (feminine singular), prêts (masculine plural), and prêtes (feminine plural). Example: Les salles sont prêtes. — “The rooms are ready.” pour tout le monde means “for everyone.” Pour introduces the people who will benefit, and tout le monde is the fixed French expression for “everyone” or “everybody.” Although it refers to multiple people in meaning, monde is grammatically singular in this expression, so the phrase has the form tout le monde. Example: C'est important pour tout le monde. — “It is important for everyone.” Together, Comme ça sets up the result of a way of acting: “That way.” la cuisine est prête says “the kitchen is ready,” and pour tout le monde specifies that this readiness is for everyone. The complete utterance therefore means “That keeps the kitchen ready for everyone,” with the French wording more literally presenting the result as “That way, the kitchen is ready for everyone.”