Giving clear taxi directions | Learn French in English

Sentence explanations

1. Pouvez-vous nous déposer près de l'entrée de la clinique, s'il vous plaît ?

   Could you drop us near the clinic entrance, please?

   Pouvez-vous

   Could you…?

   nous

   us

   déposer

   drop off

   près de

   near

   l'entrée

   the entrance

   clinique

   clinic

   s'il vous plaît

   please

   More detail

   Pouvez-vous contains the verb pouvoir (“can/be able to”) in the present tense, second-person plural form, with the subject pronoun vous placed after the verb in question inversion. In this request, the natural meaning is “Could you…?” The English past-looking form does not mean that the French verb is in a past tense. Pouvez-vous venir ? means “Could you come?” nous is the unstressed object pronoun meaning “us” here: the people whom the listener would drop off. French object pronouns normally come before the infinitive or conjugated verb they belong with. The corresponding singular form is me (“me”), as in Pouvez-vous me déposer ? (“Could you drop me off?”). déposer is an infinitive. After pouvoir, the following verb remains in the infinitive: pouvez déposer means “can/could drop off.” In this utterance, déposer means to leave someone at a place, not simply to put down an object. Pouvez-vous déposer les enfants ici ? means “Could you drop the children off here?” près de is the preposition “near.” It introduces the place used as the reference point: près de la gare means “near the station.” It expresses proximity, not necessarily a precise location directly beside the place. l'entrée means “the entrance.” entrée is a feminine noun; l' is the elided definite article used before a vowel sound, corresponding here to la (“the”). The noun is not the verb entrer; they are separate forms. l'entrée principale means “the main entrance.” clinique is a feminine noun meaning “clinic.” In the full phrase, de la clinique means “of the clinic” and identifies which entrance is meant. The feminine article is visible as la after de: l'entrée de la clinique, “the clinic entrance.” s'il vous plaît is the standard fixed expression “please.” It is used to make a request more polite and can follow the requested action, as it does here. Together, Pouvez-vous asks whether the listener can do something, nous déposer specifies dropping the speakers off, and près de l'entrée de la clinique gives the requested location. The complete utterance therefore means: “Could you drop us near the clinic entrance, please?”

2. C'est juste après le grand carrefour ?

   Is that just past the main intersection?

   C'est

   Is that…?

   juste après

   just past; directly after

   grand

   large; main

   carrefour

   intersection

   More detail

   C'est is the contraction of ce and est (être, “to be”). Here, ce is a demonstrative pronoun meaning “that,” and est is the third-person singular present form of être. With question intonation, C'est ... ? asks whether something is a particular place or description: “Is that ...?” juste après combines juste, “just,” with après, “after.” Together here they mean “just past” or “directly after.” Après can introduce a place or event that comes later in a route or sequence. For example: La pharmacie est après la banque. — “The pharmacy is after the bank.” grand is the adjective “large” and, in this context, “main” in the sense of an important or prominent intersection. It is masculine singular because it modifies the masculine singular noun carrefour. Its feminine singular form is grande; for example, une grande rue means “a large street.” carrefour is a masculine noun meaning “intersection” or “crossroads.” The phrase le grand carrefour means “the main intersection” here: le marks this noun phrase as masculine singular, grand agrees with it, and carrefour names the location. Together, C'est juste après le grand carrefour ? asks whether the intended location is just past the main intersection: “Is that just past the main intersection?”

3. Tournez à gauche après la banque.

   Turn left after the bank.

   Tournez

   Turn

   à gauche

   left

   après

   after

   la banque

   the bank

   More detail

   Tournez is the imperative form of tourner (“to turn”). It addresses one person formally or more than one person; the form does not identify which of those two situations applies here. For an informal command to one person, French uses Tourne. Example: Tournez à droite. — “Turn right.” à gauche means “to the left” or “left” as a direction. The preposition à is part of this directional expression. Its opposite is à droite, “to the right.” Example: La porte est à gauche. — “The door is on the left.” après means “after” and places one event or location later than another. Here it introduces the landmark used for orientation. Example: Après le pont, tournez à droite. — “After the bridge, turn right.” la banque means “the bank.” Banque is a feminine noun, so the definite article is la; its plural is les banques. The article marks a specific bank in this direction, not a numeric quantity. Example: La banque est près de la gare. — “The bank is near the station.” Together, Tournez à gauche gives the command “Turn left,” and après la banque specifies when or where to do so: “after the bank.” The whole utterance is therefore “Turn left after the bank.”

4. Puis suivez la route vers la pharmacie.

   Then follow the road toward the pharmacy.

   Puis

   then

   suivez

   follow

   route

   road

   vers

   toward

   pharmacie

   pharmacy

   More detail

   Puis means “then” and places this instruction after an earlier step in a sequence. It is a useful connector for continuing directions. suivez is the command form of suivre, “to follow.” In this sentence it is the imperative for vous, used either for more than one person or as the polite/formal singular form. The present-tense form is also vous suivez, but the imperative command is written suivez without a subject pronoun. Example: Suivez-moi. — “Follow me.” route is a feminine noun meaning “road” or “route.” The phrase la route uses the feminine singular definite article la; the article is part of the noun phrase, while route is the noun itself. Example: La route est longue. — “The road is long.” vers is a preposition meaning “toward” or “in the direction of.” It indicates direction, not necessarily arrival. Example: Marchez vers la sortie. — “Walk toward the exit.” pharmacie is a feminine noun meaning “pharmacy.” Here it appears in the noun phrase la pharmacie, with the feminine singular definite article la. Example: La pharmacie est ouverte. — “The pharmacy is open.” Together, Puis marks the next step, suivez la route gives the command to follow the road, and vers la pharmacie specifies its direction. The complete meaning is: “Then follow the road toward the pharmacy.”

5. Je continue tout droit après le virage ?

   Should I keep going straight after the turn?

   Je

   I

   continue

   keep going

   tout droit

   straight ahead

   après

   after

   virage

   turn

   More detail

   Je means “I” and is the first-person singular subject pronoun. It identifies the speaker as the person who would continue. For comparison, vous means “you” in a formal or plural role, as in the nearby instruction Continuez; it would not fit this speaker-centered question. continue comes from the verb continuer, “to continue” or “to keep going.” Here it is the present-tense first-person singular form: je continue. The same verb has forms such as tu continues (“you continue”) and vous continuez (“you continue”). Example: Je continue jusqu'à la pharmacie. — “I continue as far as the pharmacy.” tout droit is a fixed directional expression meaning “straight ahead.” It tells us the direction of continuing; it is not the verb itself. Example: Allez tout droit. — “Go straight ahead.” après means “after” and introduces what comes later in the route or sequence. In this utterance, it is followed by the noun phrase le virage, so the intended point is after the turn. virage is a masculine noun meaning “turn” or “bend” in a road. Its usual singular form is un virage; with the definite article here, it is le virage. The plural is des virages. Example: Le virage est juste après la pharmacie. — “The turn is just after the pharmacy.” Together, Je continue tout droit après le virage ? forms a question with rising intonation: the speaker asks whether they should keep going straight once they are past the turn. The present form continue describes the proposed action from the speaker’s perspective; the question itself supplies the intended “should I” meaning. The complete meaning is: “Should I keep going straight after the turn?”

6. Continuez jusqu'à ce que la pharmacie soit sur votre droite.

   Keep going until the pharmacy is on your right.

   Continuez

   Keep going; continue.

   jusqu'à ce que

   until

   pharmacie

   pharmacy

   soit

   is; be

   sur votre droite

   on your right

   More detail

   Continuez is the imperative form of continuer for vous. It can address one person formally or more than one person; the form itself does not identify which. The imperative gives the instruction “continue.” Vous continuez is instead a present-tense statement, not an imperative. jusqu'à ce que introduces a time limit: the instruction continues up to the point when the following event or state holds. In French, this conjunction is followed by the subjunctive. Here, soit is the subjunctive form of être for a third-person singular subject, la pharmacie; it is not a form of continuer. Compare La pharmacie est à droite (“The pharmacy is on the right”) as a statement with jusqu'à ce que la pharmacie soit à droite (“until the pharmacy is on the right”) after this time expression. pharmacie is the noun “pharmacy.” Its usual article is feminine: une pharmacie (“a pharmacy”), la pharmacie (“the pharmacy”). The noun is the subject of soit, even though it comes after jusqu'à ce que. soit comes from être, “to be.” In this sentence it presents the pharmacy as being in a particular position when the stated endpoint is reached. The relevant form is subjunctive singular: soit; the indicative counterpart in a straightforward statement is est. sur votre droite means “on your right.” votre is the possessive determiner used with vous; it does not by itself specify whether the possessor is one person addressed formally or several people. droite here refers to the right-hand side. In another context, droite can also be the feminine form of the adjective droit (“straight” or “right”), but here the phrase is a location expression for the right side. Together, Continuez gives the instruction to keep moving, and jusqu'à ce que la pharmacie soit sur votre droite sets the endpoint for that instruction. Thus the whole utterance means, “Keep going until the pharmacy is on your right.”

7. Où voulez-vous que je m'arrête ?

   Where would you like me to stop?

   Où

   Where

   voulez-vous

   would you like

   m'arrête

   stop

   More detail

   Où means “where” and asks for a location. It can be used in a reusable question pattern: Où + verb ... ? — for example, Où habitez-vous ? means “Where do you live?” voulez-vous is the present-tense form of vouloir (“to want”) with subject–verb inversion: voulez is the vous form, and vous is the subject pronoun placed after the verb in this question. Here, vouloir que introduces what the other person wants someone else to do, so voulez-vous que... naturally expresses “would you like ... to...?” The choice of vous also addresses the listener formally or addresses more than one person; the form alone does not establish which of those applies. m'arrête combines m', the shortened form of the reflexive pronoun me before a vowel, with arrête, from the reflexive verb s'arrêter (“to stop”). In que je m'arrête, je is the subject and m' refers back to that same subject: literally, “that I stop myself,” though English normally just says “that I stop.” After vouloir que, French uses the subjunctive; m'arrête is the first-person singular subjunctive form of s'arrêter. It looks the same as the third-person singular present form, but je identifies the person here. Compare Je m'arrête ici. — “I am stopping here.” Together, Où asks for the stopping place, voulez-vous que asks what location the listener wants, and je m'arrête supplies the action by the speaker. The complete utterance means “Where would you like me to stop?” It is a polite question asking the listener to specify a place.

8. N'importe où près de la porte d'entrée, c'est très bien.

   Anywhere near the front door is fine.

   N'importe où

   anywhere

   près de

   near

   porte d'entrée

   front door

   c'est très bien

   that's fine

   More detail

   N'importe où means “anywhere” here: the location is left open, as long as the later condition is met. It is a reusable indefinite-location expression. Compare n'importe quand (“at any time”) and n'importe comment (“in any way”); the second word identifies what is unrestricted. près de means “near” and introduces the reference point for a location. De is a preposition here, not an article. A reusable pattern is près de + place/personne (“near + place/person”). For example: Le café est près de la gare. — “The café is near the station.” porte d'entrée means “front door” in this sentence. Porte is a feminine noun, and d'entrée specifies its type or function: literally, “entrance door.” The form d' is de before the vowel of entrée; this is an elision, not a separate word. Entrée is a feminine noun meaning “entrance” in this expression. For example: La porte d'entrée est ouverte. — “The front door is open.” c'est très bien means “that is fine” or “that works well” here. C'est is the contraction of ce and est, using the verb être (“to be”); très intensifies bien. In this fixed sentence, the expression evaluates the proposed location positively rather than describing a person or object as morally good. For example: Ici, c'est très bien. — “Here, that's fine.” Together, N'importe où près de la porte d'entrée sets an unrestricted location within the area near the front door, and c'est très bien says that such a location is acceptable. The complete meaning is: “Anywhere near the front door is fine.”

9. Je peux m'arrêter juste après l'entrée.

   I can pull over just beyond the entrance.

   Je peux

   I can

   m'arrêter

   pull over

   juste après

   just beyond

   l'entrée

   the entrance

   More detail

   Je peux means “I can” here. peux is the first-person singular present form of pouvoir (“to be able to,” “can”): je peux, tu peux, il/elle peut. It is followed by an infinitive, so Je peux + infinitive is a reusable way to say that the speaker is able or permitted to do something. Example: Je peux attendre. — “I can wait.” m'arrêter is the infinitive s'arrêter, “to stop.” The m' is the reflexive pronoun me, shortened before the vowel of arrêter; it refers back to the speaker. With pouvoir, the pronoun stays attached to the infinitive: Je peux m'arrêter. In this driving-related context, “stop” naturally corresponds to “pull over.” Example: Je dois m'arrêter ici. — “I have to stop here.” juste après means “just beyond” in this location description. juste narrows the distance, while après expresses a position after a reference point. après can also describe time, as in après le repas (“after the meal”), but here it describes location. l'entrée means “the entrance.” The noun's base form is entrée, and it is feminine; l' is the definite article la elided before a vowel. The article marks a specific entrance in this utterance, not a numerical count. Example: L'entrée est à droite. — “The entrance is on the right.” Together, Je peux m'arrêter expresses the speaker's ability or possibility of stopping, and juste après l'entrée specifies the location. The complete meaning is: “I can pull over just beyond the entrance.”