Choosing a lunch set with preferences | Learn French in English

Sentence explanations

1. Je veux commander une formule déjeuner pour nous.

   I want to order a lunch set for us.

   Je veux

   I want

   commander

   to order

   formule

   set menu

   déjeuner

   lunch

   pour nous

   for us

   More detail

   Je veux means “I want” here. veux is the first-person singular present form of vouloir (“to want”): je veux, tu veux, il/elle veut. In this sentence, Je is the person expressing the desire. A useful pattern is Je veux + infinitive: Je veux partir. — “I want to leave.” commander means “to order.” It is an infinitive, used after veux to name the desired action. The same form can be reused after other verbs or expressions that require an infinitive: Je vais commander. — “I am going to order.” formule means “set menu” in this context: a prepared meal combination offered as one choice. It is a feminine noun; its plural is formules. Here it is specified by the following noun déjeuner, forming the compact expression formule déjeuner. déjeuner means “lunch” here. As a noun, it names the midday meal; it can also be a verb meaning “to have lunch,” but that is a different use. In formule déjeuner, it identifies the type of set menu rather than functioning as the action “to have lunch.” pour nous means “for us.” pour introduces the intended recipients, and nous is the first-person plural pronoun used after this preposition. Compare pour moi (“for me”) and pour nous (“for us”). Together, Je veux commander expresses the desire to order, une formule déjeuner identifies the item as a lunch set, and pour nous specifies that it is intended for the speaker and at least one other person. The complete meaning is: “I want to order a lunch set for us.”

2. Tu préfères le poulet ou le poisson ?

   Would you prefer chicken or fish?

   préfères

   prefer

   poulet

   chicken

   ou

   or

   poisson

   fish

   More detail

   préfères means “prefer” here. Its base form is préférer; préfères is the present-tense form used with tu (“you,” singular informal). The final s is part of this written form, although it is not normally pronounced. Compare je préfère (“I prefer”) and tu préfères (“you prefer”). poulet is the noun “chicken.” In this sentence, le poulet refers to chicken as a food choice. French nouns are commonly introduced with a determiner such as le; here, le is not a separate claim that there is one specific chicken. ou is the coordinating word “or.” It connects the two alternatives being offered: le poulet and le poisson. poisson is the noun “fish.” In le poisson, it is the second food choice. The same noun can refer to fish as food or to a fish animal in other contexts; the surrounding wording here supports the food meaning. Together, Tu préfères asks which option the person prefers, and le poulet ou le poisson supplies the two alternatives. The whole utterance means: “Would you prefer chicken or fish?” The question uses the present form préfères, while English commonly uses “would you prefer” for this choice-offering situation.

3. Le poisson me semble meilleur aujourd'hui.

   Fish sounds better to me today.

   poisson

   fish

   me semble

   seems to me

   meilleur

   better

   aujourd'hui

   today

   More detail

   poisson means “fish” here. It is a masculine singular noun. In the full sentence, le is the definite article used with this noun phrase; it marks masculine singular form, but a French definite article does not by itself prove that the reference is specific. In the preceding question, poisson is one of the foods under discussion. me semble comes from sembler, “to seem” or “to appear.” semble is the present-tense form for il/elle/on, and here the subject is Le poisson, so the verb is third-person singular. me is the indirect object pronoun meaning “to me”: literally, the fish “seems better to me.” Compare Je semble..., “I seem...,” where the speaker is the subject and the verb form changes. Example: Cette idée me semble utile. — “This idea seems useful to me.” meilleur is the irregular comparative form related to bon (“good”): bon → meilleur (“better”). It is an adjective, and here it agrees with the masculine singular noun poisson; the adjective itself, not the noun, carries this form. Its opposite in this comparison is moins bon, “less good,” while pire (“worse”) is another common comparative of poor quality. Example: Ce plat est meilleur. — “This dish is better.” The sentence compares the fish’s quality with an understood earlier or alternative standard; it does not identify that standard precisely. aujourd'hui means “today.” The apostrophe is part of the written form, and the word places the comparison in the current day. Example: Je travaille aujourd'hui. — “I am working today.” Together, Le poisson is the subject, me semble expresses the speaker’s impression, meilleur describes the fish as better, and aujourd'hui limits that impression to today. The whole utterance therefore means: “Fish seems better to me today,” matching the fixed translation. The phrasing presents this as the speaker’s perception rather than as an objective claim about fish.

4. C'est avec du riz et un petit accompagnement.

   It comes with rice and one small side.

   C'est avec

   it comes with

   du riz

   rice

   petit

   small

   accompagnement

   side

   More detail

   C’est avec is a reusable way to present what an item comes with. C’est combines ce and est, with elision shown by the apostrophe; avec means “with.” Here, the fixed translation supports the meaning “it comes with.” Du riz means rice. Du is the partitive article used here with the mass noun riz, presenting rice as an uncounted substance rather than as a separately counted portion. Un riz can be used in a context where a type or serving of rice is being counted, but it is not the ordinary way to say simply “some rice.” Petit means small here. It is the masculine singular form of the adjective and agrees with the masculine singular noun accompagnement in un petit accompagnement. The useful forms are petit, petite, petits, and petites, matching the noun’s gender and number. Example: une petite portion — “a small portion.” Accompagnement is a masculine noun meaning a side or accompaniment served with something. Its plural is accompagnements. Here, un marks the noun phrase as indefinite and singular. An indefinite article does not by itself assert a numerical count, but the fixed English translation explicitly expresses this intended side as “one small side.” Example: Quel accompagnement choisissez-vous ? — “Which side are you choosing?” Together, C’est avec du riz et un petit accompagnement presents the items that come with the item or meal being discussed: rice and a small, indefinite side. The noun phrase un petit accompagnement combines the masculine singular article un, the agreeing adjective petit, and the noun accompagnement; et joins it to du riz.

5. Quel accompagnement a l'air le meilleur ?

   Which side looks best?

   Quel

   which

   accompagnement

   side

   a l'air

   looks / seems

   meilleur

   best

   More detail

   Quel asks for a choice among possible items. It is the masculine singular form, agreeing with accompagnement; the feminine singular form is quelle, and plural forms are quels and quelles. In this sentence it is a determiner, not a standalone pronoun and not a statement of quantity. Accompagnement is a noun meaning a side dish or accompaniment here. Its useful plural is accompagnements. The preceding context supports the food meaning “side,” rather than a more general sense such as accompaniment in an activity. A l'air is the third-person singular present form of avoir l'air, literally “to have the appearance,” used to say that something looks or seems a certain way. The subject here is singular: un accompagnement a l'air bon means “a side looks good.” With a plural subject, the verb changes: Les accompagnements ont l'air bons means “The sides look good.” Meilleur is the irregular comparative form related to bon (“good”). In the expression le meilleur, it means “the best”; the masculine singular article le is the element that appears immediately before the quoted adjective in the full sentence. Other forms include la meilleure, les meilleurs, and les meilleures, agreeing with the noun they describe. Example: Cette option est meilleure. — “This option is better.” Together, Quel accompagnement asks which side is being selected, and a l'air le meilleur asks which one appears best. The complete utterance means: “Which side looks best?”

6. Les légumes ont l'air frais et simples.

   The vegetables look fresh and simple.

   légumes

   vegetables

   ont l'air

   look; seem

   frais

   fresh

   simples

   simple

   More detail

   légumes means “vegetables” here. Its singular is légume; the plural is légumes: un légume → des légumes. In this sentence, it is the subject of the description. ont l'air belongs to the reusable expression avoir l'air, meaning “to look” or “to seem.” Here ont is the present-tense form of avoir used with a plural subject; the singular form is a l'air: Le plat a l'air bon = “The dish looks good.” The expression can be followed by an adjective describing the subject. frais means “fresh” here. It is the masculine plural form agreeing with légumes. The masculine singular form is also frais; the feminine forms are fraîche and fraîches. Example: Les fruits sont frais. = “The fruits are fresh.” simples means “simple” here, in the sense of uncomplicated or plain. It is the plural form of simple. This adjective has the same singular form for masculine and feminine nouns (simple) and the same plural form for both (simples), so the final -s marks number, not gender. Example: Des recettes simples = “Simple recipes.” Together, Les légumes is the subject, and ont l'air frais et simples says that the vegetables look fresh and simple. et joins the two adjectives. frais agrees with the masculine plural subject in a visibly gendered form, while simples is plural and its form is shared by both genders.

7. Choisissons les légumes.

   Let's choose the vegetables.

   Choisissons

   let's choose

   légumes

   vegetables

   More detail

   Choisissons is the first-person plural imperative of choisir (“to choose”). In this form, the speaker includes themself with one or more other people: “let’s choose.” The present-tense form for “we choose” is also nous choisissons, while the imperative omits nous: Choisissons ! (“Let’s choose!”). This form expresses a proposal or encouragement, not a statement that the choosing has already happened. légumes means “vegetables” here. It is the plural of légume (“vegetable”); the final -s marks the plural in writing. The noun is masculine, so its singular definite article is le and its plural definite article is les: le légume / les légumes. The plural article les identifies the vegetables as specific or already identifiable in this context; it does not itself state how many there are. Together, Choisissons les légumes. means “Let’s choose the vegetables.” The imperative Choisissons supplies the shared proposal, and les légumes identifies what the group is being invited to choose.

8. Je peux passer la commande maintenant.

   I can place the order now.

   Je peux

   I can

   passer

   place

   la commande

   the order

   maintenant

   now

   More detail

   Je peux means “I can” here. peux is the first-person singular present form of pouvoir (“to be able to,” or “can”): je peux, tu peux, il/elle peut. The form expresses the speaker’s ability or authorization in this sentence. After a conjugated form of pouvoir, the next verb normally stays in the infinitive. Example: Je peux venir. — “I can come.” passer is the infinitive of passer. In passer la commande, this verb is used in the established sense “to place an order,” rather than its more general senses such as “to pass” or “to spend time.” The infinitive appears because it follows peux. Example: Nous pouvons passer la commande. — “We can place the order.” la commande means “the order” in this context. commande is a feminine singular noun, and la is its definite article. The article marks a specific order in the situation; it does not itself state a numerical count. commande can also refer to an instruction or control order in other contexts, but the ordering expression here selects the commercial meaning. Example: La commande est prête. — “The order is ready.” maintenant is an adverb meaning “now.” It places the action at the present time and does not change form for person or number. Together, Je peux + infinitive passer gives “I can place,” la commande supplies “the order,” and maintenant adds “now.” The complete utterance therefore means: “I can place the order now.”