Using a shared meeting room | Learn French in English

Sentence explanations

1. Pouvons-nous utiliser la salle de réunion partagée ?

   Can we use the shared meeting room?

   Pouvons-nous

   Can we?

   utiliser

   use

   salle

   room

   réunion

   meeting

   partagée

   shared

   More detail

   Pouvons-nous means “Can we?” here. It combines pouvons, the present-tense first-person plural form of pouvoir (“to be able to”), with nous (“we”). French inversion places the subject pronoun after the verb in this question pattern: Pouvons-nous ... ? Compare Nous pouvons utiliser... (“We can use...”); the verb form stays pouvons, but the word order changes. utiliser is the infinitive “to use.” After pouvoir, French uses an infinitive: pouvoir + infinitive. For example, Nous pouvons attendre. means “We can wait.” The infinitive does not itself show who performs the action; pouvons identifies the subject here as nous. salle means “room.” It is a feminine singular noun. For example, une salle calme means “a quiet room.” Its meaning can be specified by a following phrase, as in salle de réunion. réunion means “meeting.” In salle de réunion, de links the nouns and creates the reusable pattern “room for/of [a purpose]”: literally “room of meeting,” naturally “meeting room.” réunion is feminine, but it does not control the agreement of partagée; partagée describes salle. partagée means “shared” here and agrees with the feminine singular noun salle. It is the feminine singular form of the past participle/adjectival form partagé, which comes from the verb partager (“to share”). The useful agreement chain is partagé (masculine singular), partagée (feminine singular), partagés (masculine plural or mixed plural), and partagées (feminine plural). For example, des salles partagées means “shared rooms.” Together, Pouvons-nous utiliser asks whether we can use something. la salle de réunion identifies the object as “the meeting room”: la is the feminine singular definite article, and de réunion specifies its purpose. partagée adds that the room is shared. The complete utterance therefore means “Can we use the shared meeting room?” In this context, the question asks for permission to use it.

2. Vous pouvez, mais gardez la salle propre pour les autres.

   You can, but keep it tidy for other people.

   pouvez

   can; are able to

   gardez

   keep; maintain

   salle

   room

   propre

   clean; tidy

   les autres

   other people

   More detail

   pouvez is a form of pouvoir (“to be able to/can”). Vous pouvez means “you can” here; pouvez is the present-tense second-person plural form, and vous can address several people or one person formally. The comma and mais then contrast this permission with the instruction that follows. gardez comes from garder (“to keep”). Here it is the imperative form for vous, so it means “keep” or “maintain,” with the subject understood as “you.” The same form can address several people or one person formally. Example: Gardez la porte fermée. — “Keep the door closed.” salle means “room.” It is a feminine singular noun: une salle (“a room”), la salle (“the room”). In the supplied context, it refers to the shared meeting room mentioned earlier. propre is the adjective “clean” or “tidy.” It describes salle, so it is feminine singular here. Its spelling is the same in the masculine singular; the plural form is propres. Example: une table propre — “a clean table.” les autres means “the other people” here. autres is the plural form of autre (“other”), and it is used substantivally with les, so the noun it represents is understood rather than stated. Example: Respectez les autres. — “Respect other people.” Together, Vous pouvez grants permission: “You can.” mais introduces a contrast, linking that permission to the accompanying instruction gardez la salle propre, “keep the room tidy.” pour les autres expresses consideration for other people: “for other people.” The complete utterance is therefore: “You can, but keep it tidy for other people.”

3. Cette table est-elle libre ?

   Is this table free?

   Cette

   this

   table

   table

   est-elle

   is it?

   libre

   free; available

   More detail

   Cette means “this” here and is the feminine singular demonstrative determiner. It agrees with the noun it introduces: ce before a masculine singular noun beginning with a consonant sound, cet before a masculine singular noun beginning with a vowel sound, cette before a feminine singular noun, and ces with plural nouns. Example: cette chaise — “this chair.” table is a feminine singular noun meaning “table”; its usual indefinite form is une table. Its feminine gender is relevant because it selects cette in this phrase. Example: La table est grande. — “The table is big.” est-elle is the question pattern est + elle, with subject–verb inversion. est is the third-person singular present form of être (“to be”); elle is the feminine singular subject pronoun “she/it.” The hyphen marks the written inversion: Est-elle prête ? — “Is she/it ready?” Here, elle has the feminine grammatical form required by table, and the fixed translation shows that the utterance asks about the table rather than a person. libre is an adjective meaning “free” in the sense of “unoccupied” or “available” here. Its singular spelling is the same for masculine and feminine; its plural form is libres. Example: La chaise est libre. — “The chair is free.” Together, Cette table means “this table.” The inverted question est-elle libre ? asks whether this table is currently unoccupied or available. Thus the whole utterance is: “Is this table free?” This is a natural, concise way to ask about availability.

4. Elle est disponible maintenant.

   It is available now.

   Elle est

   it is

   disponible

   available

   maintenant

   now

   More detail

   Elle est combines the subject pronoun elle with the present-tense form est of être (“to be”). Elle is feminine singular; est is the third-person singular form. Here, the fixed translation supports the meaning “it is,” without identifying the noun referred to more specifically. disponible means “available” here. It is an adjective. Its masculine and feminine singular forms are both disponible; the plural form is disponibles. For example: La salle est disponible. — “The room is available.” maintenant is an adverb meaning “now.” It places the situation at the present time. For example: Je suis disponible maintenant. — “I am available now.” Together, Elle est disponible maintenant. means “It is available now.” The structure is [subject] + [être] + [adjective] + [time adverb]: the subject is described as available, and maintenant says that this is true at the present time.

5. Je vais mettre mon sac près du mur.

   I will put my bag by the wall.

   Je vais

   I will / I am going to

   mettre

   put

   mon

   my

   sac

   bag

   près du

   by the / near the

   mur

   wall

   More detail

   Je vais combines the present-tense form vais of aller with an infinitive to express the near future: “I am going to …” or, in this sentence, “I will …”. The subject form is je; other subjects use forms such as tu vas and il va. Example: Je vais travailler. — “I am going to work.” mettre means “to put” or “to place”. It is an infinitive here because it follows vais. Its useful present-tense forms include je mets and nous mettons; the infinitive is not mets. Example: Je mets le livre sur la table. — “I put the book on the table.” mon means “my” before the singular masculine noun sac. French possessive forms agree with the possessed noun, not with the owner: mon is used with a masculine singular noun, while ma is used with a feminine singular noun before a consonant. Before a feminine singular noun beginning with a vowel sound, French also uses mon, as in mon amie (“my female friend”). sac means “bag”. It is a masculine singular noun; its plural is sacs. Here it is the thing being put. Example: Mon sac est lourd. — “My bag is heavy.” près du means “near the” or “by the”. It is the combination près de (“near”) + le (“the”): de and le contract to du. With a feminine singular noun, the corresponding form is près de la; with a plural noun, près des. Example: La chaise est près du mur. — “The chair is near the wall.” mur means “wall”. It is a masculine singular noun; its plural is murs. In this sentence, it is the landmark next to which the bag will be placed. Together, Je vais mettre expresses the planned or intended near-future action “I will put”; mon sac identifies the object as the speaker’s bag; and près du mur gives its destination or location, “by the wall”. The whole utterance means: “I will put my bag by the wall.”

6. Veuillez garder la table libre.

   Please keep the table clear.

   Veuillez

   please

   garder

   keep

   table

   table

   libre

   clear

   More detail

   Veuillez is the polite imperative form of vouloir addressed to one person formally or to several people. In this pattern, Veuillez + infinitive is a formal way to say “please …”: Veuillez attendre. = “Please wait.” The following verb stays in the infinitive. garder means “to keep” or “to leave something in a state.” Here it is an infinitive because it follows Veuillez. Compare garder la porte ouverte = “to keep the door open.” table is a feminine singular noun meaning “table.” The form is supported by the article la: la table. The plural is les tables. Do not treat table as the adjective describing the table; it names the object. libre means “clear” here: the table should remain unoccupied or available. It is an adjective. With a feminine singular noun, its spelling is still libre; the plural form is libres, as in des tables libres. In another context, libre can mean “free” in the sense of not controlled or not busy, but “clear” is the intended sense here. Together, Veuillez garder forms the polite request “please keep,” and la table libre means “the table clear.” The complete utterance is therefore: “Please keep the table clear.”

7. Nous laisserons la salle propre quand nous finirons.

   We will leave the room clean when we finish.

   Nous

   we

   laisserons

   will leave

   salle

   room

   propre

   clean

   quand

   when

   finirons

   finish

   More detail

   Nous means “we” here: a first-person plural subject pronoun. It identifies the speaker together with at least one other participant, without specifying who the other participant is. Compare je (“I”) for one speaker and vous (“you” or plural/formal “you”) for the addressee. Example: Nous travaillons. — “We are working.” laisserons is the future form of laisser, “to leave” or “to let,” with nous as its subject. The ending -ons here marks first-person plural in the future; the future stem is laisser-. In this sentence, laisser means leaving something in a particular state, not simply departing. Example: Nous laisserons la porte ouverte. — “We will leave the door open.” salle is a feminine noun meaning “room” or, depending on context, a hall or similar space. In the fixed sentence, la salle means “the room”; the definite article la marks a specific feminine singular noun. Example: La salle est grande. — “The room is large.” propre is an adjective meaning “clean” here. It describes the state in which the room will be left. The same form is used with a feminine singular noun such as salle; in other contexts, propre can also mean “one’s own,” so its meaning comes from the surrounding construction. Example: La table est propre. — “The table is clean.” quand introduces a time clause and means “when.” It connects an event with the time at which another event occurs. Example: Je partirai quand tu arriveras. — “I will leave when you arrive.” finirons is the first-person plural future form of finir, “to finish.” Its -ons ending agrees with nous, just as in laisserons; the future stem is finir-. Here, the subject is understood from the form and is the same nous expressed earlier. Example: Nous finirons demain. — “We will finish tomorrow.” Together, Nous laisserons la salle propre says that we will leave the room clean. quand nous finirons adds the time condition “when we finish.” The complete utterance therefore means: “We will leave the room clean when we finish.”

8. Cela aide le prochain groupe.

   That helps the next group.

   Cela

   That

   aide

   helps

   prochain

   next

   groupe

   group

   More detail

   Cela is a demonstrative pronoun meaning “that” here. It points to something already understood from the situation or context; the supplied sentence does not identify exactly what it refers to. Unlike an adjective, cela does not change for masculine/feminine or singular/plural. A useful contrast is ce before a masculine singular noun, as in ce groupe (“this/that group”), whereas cela stands on its own as a pronoun. aide comes from the verb aider (“to help”). Here it is the present-tense form for a third-person singular subject: cela aide = “that helps.” The final -e belongs to the inflected verb form; the infinitive is aider. Example: Cette règle aide. — “This rule helps.” prochain means “next” in this sentence and describes groupe. It is the masculine singular form, matching the masculine singular noun groupe. The related forms are prochaine with a feminine singular noun, and prochains/prochaines in the plural. Example: la prochaine étape — “the next step.” groupe is a masculine noun meaning “group.” Its plural is groupes, so un groupe means “a group” and des groupes means “groups.” The noun’s grammatical gender is relevant here because the adjective appears as masculine singular: prochain groupe. Together, Cela aide le prochain groupe means “That helps the next group.” Cela is the subject, aide expresses the present action, and le prochain groupe is the definite noun phrase receiving the help. The article le identifies the group as a specific “next group”; it does not by itself state a numeric count.