Finding the Correct Platform After a Change | Learn French in English

Sentence explanations

1. Tu as entendu l'annonce à l'instant ?

   Did you hear the announcement just now?

   Tu as

   you have

   entendu

   heard

   l'annonce

   the announcement

   à l'instant

   just now

   More detail

   Tu as combines tu, the informal singular “you,” with the present-tense form as of avoir (“to have”). Here it helps form the French past tense, rather than expressing possession. The corresponding forms include j’ai (“I have”), il/elle a (“he/she has”), and nous avons (“we have”). Entendu means “heard” here. It is the past participle of entendre (“to hear”), used with as in the passé composé: tu as entendu = “you heard” or “you have heard.” Example: J’ai entendu la sonnerie. — “I heard the bell.” L’annonce means “the announcement.” It is the feminine noun annonce with the definite article la; before a vowel sound, la elides to l’. The same article form is used with a singular noun beginning with a vowel sound regardless of whether that noun is masculine or feminine. Example: L’annonce est claire. — “The announcement is clear.” À l’instant is a time expression meaning “just now.” It places the hearing very recently in the past. Example: Il est arrivé à l’instant. — “He arrived just now.” Together, Tu as entendu l’annonce à l’instant ? asks, “Did you hear the announcement just now?” The past-tense construction tu as entendu identifies the hearing event, l’annonce identifies what was heard, and à l’instant specifies when it happened.

2. Le train part d'un autre quai.

   The train is leaving from a different platform.

   train

   train

   part

   leaves; departs

   autre

   different; other

   quai

   platform

   More detail

   train is the noun for “train.” Here it is singular and masculine, so the subject phrase uses the masculine singular article le: le train. Example: Le train arrive. — “The train is arriving.” part is the third-person singular present form of partir, “to leave” or “to depart.” The present tense can describe an action happening now, so the fixed translation naturally uses “is leaving.” The forms are je pars, tu pars, and il/elle part. The final t in part is normally silent; it is not pronounced as a separate sound in this sentence. Example: Le bus part à huit heures. — “The bus leaves at eight o’clock.” autre means “different” or “other” here. It comes before the noun and is singular in un autre quai. Its singular form is the same for masculine and feminine nouns; the plural is autres: un autre train, “another train,” but d'autres trains, “other trains.” Example: Nous prenons une autre route. — “We are taking a different route.” quai means “platform” in this context. It is a masculine noun: un quai, “a platform.” Its plural is quais: les quais, “the platforms.” It can also mean a quay or embankment in other contexts, but the fixed translation identifies the railway-platform meaning here. The phrase d'un autre quai means “from a different platform.” d'un combines de (“from/of”) with un (“a”), and autre describes quai. Together, Le train part d'un autre quai has the structure “The train leaves from a different platform.” Thus Le train is the subject, part states its present departure, and d'un autre quai gives the place from which it leaves.

3. Le panneau indique qu'on doit aller sur l'autre quai à la place.

   The board says we should use the other platform instead.

   panneau

   board; sign

   indique

   indicates; says

   qu'on doit

   that we should; that we have to

   aller

   to go

   autre

   other; different

   quai

   platform

   à la place

   instead

   More detail

   panneau means “board” or “sign” here: a posted information sign. It is a singular noun; its plural is panneaux. Example: Le panneau est visible. — “The sign is visible.” indique is the present-tense form of indiquer for il/elle/on or another third-person singular subject. Here, the subject is Le panneau, so the form means “indicates” or, for the information it gives, “says.” Example: Le plan indique la sortie. — “The map indicates the exit.” qu'on doit begins the content clause. que contracts to qu' before on, giving qu'on. In this sentence, on has the inclusive conversational meaning “we,” as reflected by the fixed translation. doit is the third-person singular present form of devoir, followed by an infinitive. Here, it expresses what we are expected or required to do. Example: On doit attendre. — “We have to wait.” aller is the infinitive “to go.” After doit, it names the action that is expected: on doit aller means “we should go” or “we have to go.” The infinitive remains aller; person and number appear in doit. autre means “other” or “different.” It modifies quai in l'autre quai, identifying a platform different from the one relevant in the situation. It is singular here; the plural form is autres. The definite article l' is used before the vowel sound at the beginning of autre. quai means “platform” in this travel context. It is a singular noun; its plural is quais. With movement expressed by aller, aller sur l'autre quai means “go to the other platform.” à la place means “instead.” It marks the alternative destination or action chosen in place of the previously relevant one. Example: Prenons le bus à la place. — “Let’s take the bus instead.” Together, Le panneau indique means “The board says,” and qu'on doit aller sur l'autre quai gives the message content: “we should go to the other platform.” The final à la place adds “instead.” The complete utterance means: “The board says we should use the other platform instead.”

4. Alors, on doit suivre les panneaux maintenant.

   Then we should follow the signs now.

   Alors

   Then

   on doit

   we should

   suivre

   follow

   panneaux

   signs

   maintenant

   now

   More detail

   Alors means “then” here and links the utterance to the current situation. It can also introduce a conclusion or transition in other contexts, but here it moves from the preceding information to the proposed action. on doit combines the subject pronoun on with doit, the third-person singular present form of devoir. In this context, on has the inclusive “we” meaning confirmed by the translation. In everyday French, on commonly replaces nous, but the verb still uses third-person singular agreement: on doit, not on devons. Devoir expresses necessity or an obligation; in this sentence, the translation presents that necessity as “should.” Example: On doit partir. — “We have to leave.” suivre is the infinitive “to follow.” It is the verb selected after doit: on doit suivre means “we should/have to follow.” Its base form is suivre; do not confuse it with être forms such as suis. Example: Il faut suivre les instructions. — “You have to follow the instructions.” panneaux is the plural of the noun panneau, meaning “sign” here. The plural form is marked by -x: un panneau / des panneaux. The definite plural article appears immediately before it in the utterance, giving les panneaux, “the signs”; the noun itself is panneaux. Example: Je regarde les panneaux. — “I am looking at the signs.” maintenant means “now” and places the action at the current time. It modifies the whole action suivre les panneaux, rather than being part of the noun phrase. Together, Alors, on doit suivre les panneaux maintenant. means “Then we should follow the signs now.” The structure is Alors + subject and modal-like verb on doit + infinitive suivre + object les panneaux + time adverb maintenant. The wording presents following the signs as the action that should be taken at this point.

5. Est-ce qu'on a assez de temps pour y aller ?

   Do we have enough time to get there?

   Est-ce qu'on

   Do we…?

   a

   has / have

   assez

   enough

   temps

   time

   pour

   to / in order to

   y

   there

   aller

   go

   More detail

   Est-ce qu'on is a standard French question frame. It turns the following statement into a yes/no question; here on is the subject, meaning “we” in the fixed translation. In everyday French, on commonly replaces nous as the subject, while the verb after it uses the third-person singular form. Example: Est-ce qu'on part ? — “Are we leaving?” a is the present form of avoir (“to have”) for on, so on a means “we have” here. The useful present-tense contrast is j'ai, tu as, il/elle/on a, and nous avons. In this sentence, a carries the subject–verb agreement; temps is not its base form. assez means “enough” and expresses a sufficient amount. It commonly appears before de plus a noun: assez de temps — “enough time”; assez d'eau — “enough water.” temps is the noun “time” in this meaning. After a quantity expression such as assez, French uses de: beaucoup de temps — “a lot of time.” The same spelling can have another meaning, “weather,” in a different context, but the fixed translation establishes the “time” meaning here. pour introduces the purpose or intended action in pour y aller, corresponding here to “to” or “in order to.” With an action performed by the same understood subject, pour is followed by an infinitive: Je viens pour aider. — “I am coming to help.” y is a pronoun meaning “there” in this sentence. It refers to a destination understood from the situation, without the supplied text identifying that destination by name. French places this short pronoun before the infinitive in y aller; it is not part of the verb aller. aller is the infinitive “to go.” Its present forms include je vais, tu vas, il/elle/on va, and nous allons; the infinitive is used after pour here. Example: Nous allons y aller. — “We are going to go there.” Together, assez de temps asks whether the available time is sufficient, and pour y aller specifies the purpose: going there. The full question is therefore “Do we have enough time to get there?”

6. Oui, si on part maintenant.

   We do if we leave now.

   Oui

   yes

   si

   if

   part

   leaves

   maintenant

   now

   More detail

   Oui means “yes” and confirms the intended action. It can stand alone as an answer or introduce a fuller statement. si introduces a condition: “if.” The pattern si + present-tense clause can describe a condition connected to a present or future result. For example: Si tu viens, je reste. — “If you come, I’ll stay.” part comes from partir, “to leave” or “to set off.” Here it is the present indicative form used with on: on part means “we leave” in the intended translation. Although on refers to “we” here, it takes a third-person singular verb form, so the form is part, not a plural form. Compare: je pars — “I leave,” nous partons — “we leave.” maintenant means “now,” referring to the present time. It can also be placed elsewhere for emphasis, but here it follows the verb: on part maintenant — “we leave now.” Together, si on part maintenant means “if we leave now.” The opening Oui confirms that this is the proposed action, giving the complete meaning: “We do if we leave now.”

7. Je vais garder mon billet prêt.

   I'll keep my ticket ready.

   Je vais

   I’m going to

   garder

   keep

   mon

   my

   billet

   ticket

   prêt

   ready

   More detail

   Je vais introduces the near future: vais is the first-person singular present form of aller, followed here by an infinitive. The pattern je vais + infinitive means “I am going to …” and describes a planned or imminent action. The subject is je (“I”); vais agrees with that subject, while garder remains in the infinitive. garder means “to keep” here: to retain the ticket in a ready state. Its infinitive is useful after forms such as je vais. Example: Je vais garder cette clé. — “I’m going to keep this key.” mon means “my” before the singular noun billet. It is a possessive determiner, not a statement about the speaker’s gender. It agrees with the possessed noun: mon billet uses the masculine-singular form; with a feminine-singular noun, the form is commonly ma. billet means “ticket” here. It is a masculine noun, so the related determiner and adjective in this phrase take masculine-singular forms. Example: J’ai mon billet. — “I have my ticket.” prêt means “ready” and describes billet. It is a masculine-singular adjective agreeing with billet; the feminine-singular form is prête. Example: La valise est prête. — “The suitcase is ready.” Together, mon billet prêt means “my ticket ready,” with prêt describing the state in which the ticket is kept. The full pattern is Je vais + infinitive + object + adjective: Je vais garder mon billet prêt. Therefore the utterance means “I’ll keep my ticket ready.”

8. Garde-le à portée de main ; le personnel peut le vérifier avant qu'on monte dans le train.

   Keep it handy; staff may check it before we board.

   Garde-le

   keep it

   à portée de main

   within reach

   le personnel

   staff

   peut

   may; can

   vérifier

   check; verify

   avant qu'on monte

   before we go up

   train

   train

   More detail

   Garde-le uses the imperative of garder (“to keep”) with the singular informal subject understood as “you.” Garder is the base form; the imperative tells someone to do something. Le is a masculine-singular direct-object pronoun, meaning “it” here, while the fixed sentence does not identify the object more specifically. The earlier sentence mentions a ticket, but it does not establish that this le refers to that ticket. À portée de main is a reusable idiomatic phrase meaning “within reach” or “handy.” It describes something positioned so that it can be reached easily. For example: Garde ton téléphone à portée de main. — “Keep your phone within reach.” Le personnel means “the staff.” Personnel is a masculine-singular noun in this expression, so it takes le and a singular verb form. It is a collective noun: the meaning concerns staff members, but the grammatical form is singular here. Peut is the third-person singular present form of pouvoir, “to be able to” or “may/can.” In le personnel peut, it expresses the possibility or authorization conveyed by the fixed translation, “staff may.” The infinitive after it names the possible action: peut vérifier means “may check.” Vérifier is the infinitive “to check” or “to verify.” Its base form is already visible here; after a conjugated form of pouvoir, French uses the infinitive rather than a second conjugated verb. The le immediately before vérifier is another object pronoun in the sentence: le vérifier means “check it.” Avant qu'on monte introduces the time condition “before we go up.” Avant que is followed by a subjunctive clause. Monte is the present subjunctive form of monter; for this verb, it has the same spelling as the corresponding present indicative form, so the construction avant que helps identify its grammatical use. On is grammatically singular but is translated as “we” here, as established by the fixed translation; consequently, the verb is monte, not a plural form. With dans le train, monter dans le train means getting onto or boarding the train in this context. Train is the masculine noun “train.” With the preposition and article in the sentence, dans le train means “in/onto the train” in the boarding context. For example: Nous montons dans le train. — “We board the train.” Together, Garde-le à portée de main gives the instruction “Keep it handy.” The second part, le personnel peut le vérifier, says that staff may check it. Avant qu'on monte dans le train places that possible check before the group boards the train. The complete meaning is therefore: “Keep it handy; staff may check it before we board.”