Reporting a Hotel Room Problem | Learn French in English

Sentence explanations

1. La climatisation de ma chambre ne fonctionne pas.

   The air conditioner in my room is not working.

   climatisation

   air conditioning

   chambre

   room

   ne … pas

   not

   fonctionne

   works

   More detail

   climatisation means “air conditioning” here. It is a feminine singular noun. In this sentence, however, its gender does not determine the possessive form ma: ma agrees with the feminine singular noun chambre. chambre means “room.” In ma chambre, it is the feminine singular noun associated with the speaker by ma. ma is the feminine singular form of the possessive determiner meaning “my”; its masculine singular counterpart is mon, as in mon bureau (“my office/desk”). ne ... pas is the standard French discontinuous negation around a conjugated verb. ne comes before fonctionne, and pas comes after it; together they mean “not.” In less formal everyday speech, ne is often omitted, but the complete form shown here is standard and clear. fonctionne is the present-tense third-person singular form of fonctionner, meaning “to work” or “to function.” Its subject is La climatisation, so the singular form is used. Example: Le chauffage fonctionne. — “The heating works.” With negation, Le chauffage ne fonctionne pas. means “The heating does not work.” Together, La climatisation de ma chambre means “the air conditioning in my room”: de ma chambre expresses the relation to the speaker’s room, and natural English uses “in” here. ne fonctionne pas says that it is not working. The complete utterance therefore means: “The air conditioner in my room is not working.”

2. Je suis désolé pour cela.

   I am sorry about that.

   Je suis

   I am

   désolé

   sorry

   pour cela

   about that

   More detail

   Je suis is the first-person singular present form of être (“to be”): je suis = “I am.” The same pattern introduces a current state or description, for example, Je suis prêt. — “I am ready.” désolé is the adjective “sorry” in its masculine singular form. It agrees with the person being described: a masculine singular speaker uses désolé, while a feminine singular speaker uses désolée; the adjective is the word that changes, not suis. In this utterance, it expresses an apology or regret about the situation. Example: Je suis désolée. — “I am sorry.” pour cela means “about that” here. pour is the preposition “for/about,” and cela is a demonstrative pronoun meaning “that.” Cela does not itself identify a particular noun by grammatical agreement; here, the fixed translation and context support the situation already mentioned, namely the room’s air conditioner not working. A reusable pattern is être désolé pour cela — “to be sorry about that.” Together, Je suis + désolé states the speaker’s current state, and pour cela identifies what the apology concerns. The complete utterance therefore means “I am sorry about that.”

3. Avez-vous essayé la télécommande ?

   Have you tried the remote?

   Avez-vous

   Have you…?

   essayé

   tried

   télécommande

   remote

   More detail

   Avez-vous begins a formal or plural “you” question through subject–verb inversion: avez is the present form of avoir for vous, and vous is the subject pronoun. The hyphen is part of this written question pattern. Compare the ordinary statement order Vous avez... with the question order Avez-vous.... The form avez itself does not identify whether vous means one person addressed formally or several people. essayé is the past participle of essayer (“to try”). Here it combines with present avoir to form the passé composé, which presents the trying as a completed past event relevant to the question. The useful pattern is avoir + past participle: Vous avez essayé means “You tried” or, in this question, “Have you tried?” Example: J'ai essayé. — “I tried.” In la télécommande, télécommande is a feminine singular noun meaning “remote control” or “remote.” Its base form is télécommande; it is not an adjective or an inflected verb. The definite article la marks this noun as feminine singular in this phrase. Example: La télécommande est ici. — “The remote is here.” Together, the inverted question pattern Avez-vous plus essayé asks whether the addressee or addressees have tried the item named by la télécommande: “Have you tried the remote?”

4. Je l'ai essayée.

   I tried it.

   Je

   I

   l'

   it

   ai

   have

   essayée

   tried

   More detail

   Je means “I.” In French, this subject pronoun is used for the speaker; it does not reveal the speaker’s gender. With ai, it forms the first-person singular of the compound past: j’ai before a vowel, as in the fixed sentence. l’ is the contracted form of le or la before a vowel. Here it is a direct-object pronoun meaning “it.” The feminine agreement on essayée supports la in this sentence; the preceding context also supports the remote as the item being tried. The form itself does not identify a new participant beyond that supported context. ai is the first-person singular present form of avoir (“to have”). Here it is an auxiliary, not the main meaning “have”: j’ai essayé(e) is the French compound past, commonly called the passé composé. Other useful forms are tu as (“you have”) and il/elle a (“he/she has”), but the auxiliary must agree with the subject. essayée comes from essayer, “to try.” The ending -ée shows the feminine singular form of the past participle essayé because the feminine direct object pronoun l’ comes before the auxiliary. Compare Je l’ai essayé when the object is masculine singular, and J’ai essayé la télécommande when the direct object follows the verb and the participle does not take this preceding-object agreement. The past participle is therefore essayée, not a different verb form meaning “have.” Together, Je + l’ + ai + essayée gives “I tried it.” The pattern is reusable: subject + direct-object pronoun + avoir + past participle, as in Je l’ai regardée — “I watched/looked at it,” with -ée agreeing with a feminine singular object placed before the auxiliary.

5. La température ne change pas.

   The temperature does not change.

   température

   temperature

   ne … pas

   not; negative pattern

   change

   changes

   More detail

   température means “temperature” here. Its base form is température, a feminine noun; the feminine article is visible in La. Example: La température monte. — “The temperature rises.” ne ... pas surrounds the conjugated verb to make a standard French negation. Here, ne comes before change and pas after it, producing “does not change.” In everyday speech, ne is often omitted, but it is present in this sentence’s standard written form. Example: La température ne baisse pas. — “The temperature does not fall.” change is the present-tense third-person singular form of changer, “to change.” The ending matches the singular subject La température; the verb itself carries the person and number marking. Compare je change — “I change” and ils changent — “they change.” Together, La température is the subject, ne ... pas negates the verb, and change expresses the present action or state. The complete sentence therefore means “The temperature does not change.”

6. Je vais envoyer quelqu'un pour vérifier.

   I will send someone to check it.

   Je vais

   I will / I am going to

   envoyer

   send

   quelqu'un

   someone

   pour

   to / in order to

   vérifier

   check

   More detail

   Je vais introduces the French near-future construction: present-tense vais, the first-person singular form of aller, followed by an infinitive. The reusable pattern is subject + aller (present) + infinitive, meaning that the subject is going to do something or will do it. For example, Je vais partir means “I am going to leave.” Here, Je is the person who will carry out the sending. envoyer is the infinitive “to send.” After vais, it remains in the infinitive rather than taking a present-tense ending. Its present-tense forms include j'envoie (“I send”) and ils envoient (“they send”); these are not interchangeable with the infinitive after vais. quelqu'un is an indefinite pronoun meaning “someone,” referring to an unspecified person. It is built from quelqu'un, not a plural form: quelqu'un means “someone,” while quelques personnes means “some people.” Example: J'attends quelqu'un. — “I am waiting for someone.” pour introduces the purpose of the action when it is followed by an infinitive. The pattern pour + infinitive commonly means “to …” or “in order to ….” Example: Je viens pour aider. — “I am coming to help.” vérifier is the infinitive “to check” or “to verify.” In this sentence it describes the purpose for which the person will be sent. The French text does not state an object after vérifier; the fixed translation supplies the intended meaning “check it.” Together, Je vais envoyer quelqu'un means “I will send someone,” and pour vérifier adds the purpose “to check it.” The complete utterance therefore means “I will send someone to check it.”

7. Combien de temps la réparation peut-elle prendre ?

   How long might the repair take?

   Combien de temps

   how long

   réparation

   repair

   peut-elle

   might it

   prendre

   take

   More detail

   Combien de temps asks about duration: literally, it asks for the amount of time. This is a reusable French question pattern: Combien de temps + verb...? means “How long...?” It is different from combien, which asks for a number or amount without necessarily asking about duration. réparation means “repair” here. It is a feminine noun, as shown by the preceding article la in la réparation; the article and noun together form the definite noun phrase “the repair.” The noun comes from the verb réparer, “to repair,” but réparation names the repair itself. Example: La réparation est terminée. — “The repair is finished.” peut-elle contains peut, the third-person singular present form of pouvoir, “can” or “may,” followed by the subject pronoun elle, “she” or “it.” In this question, elle refers to the repair, and the English meaning uses “it.” French formal questions can place the subject pronoun after the verb with a hyphen: peut-elle...? The present form of pouvoir can express possibility, so here it contributes “might” or “may,” rather than a simple physical ability. prendre is the infinitive of prendre, “to take.” In the pattern prendre du temps, it means that an activity requires a certain duration. The infinitive follows peut because a conjugated modal verb such as pouvoir is followed by another verb in the infinitive. Example: Cela peut prendre deux jours. — “That might take two days.” Together, Combien de temps asks for the duration, la réparation identifies what may require that duration, and peut-elle prendre asks whether that duration might be required. The whole utterance therefore means: “How long might the repair take?”

8. Je ne suis pas sûr.

   I am not sure.

   Je

   I

   ne … pas

   not

   suis

   am

   sûr

   sure

   More detail

   Je is the first-person singular subject pronoun: “I.” It refers to the speaker, without identifying the speaker’s gender. In French, subject pronouns normally appear before the conjugated verb: Je comprends means “I understand.” ne ... pas is the standard negation pattern. Here, ne comes before the conjugated verb and pas comes after it. Example: Je ne comprends pas. — “I do not understand.” In informal spoken French, ne is often omitted, but ne ... pas is the complete standard pattern. suis is the first-person singular present form of être, “to be”: je suis — “I am.” The verb form agrees with the subject je; it is not an adjective form. Example: Je suis prêt. — “I am ready.” sûr means “sure” or “certain” here. It is an adjective in the masculine singular form. The feminine singular form is sûre, while the plural forms are sûrs and sûres; the source does not identify the speaker’s gender, so the observed form should simply be learned as the form used in this fixed sentence. Example: Elle est sûre. — “She is sure.” Together, Je suis sûr means “I am sure,” and placing ne ... pas around the conjugated verb changes it to Je ne suis pas sûr. — “I am not sure.” The sentence expresses the speaker’s uncertainty about the matter under discussion.

9. Quelqu'un peut venir bientôt.

   Someone can come shortly.

   Quelqu'un

   someone

   peut

   can

   venir

   come

   bientôt

   soon

   More detail

   Quelqu'un means “someone” or “somebody”: one person whose identity is not specified. It is an indefinite pronoun and functions here as the subject. French normally treats quelqu'un as grammatically singular, so the verb form after it is singular. Example: Quelqu'un arrive. — “Someone is arriving.” peut is the third-person singular present form of pouvoir, “to be able to” or “can.” The subject determines this form: je peux, il/elle peut, ils/elles peuvent. Here, peut expresses the possibility or ability that the unspecified person will come. After pouvoir, the next verb is normally an infinitive. venir is the infinitive “to come.” It follows peut without an additional equivalent of “to”: peut venir means “can come.” Its useful present forms include je viens, il/elle vient, and ils/elles viennent; these are forms of venir, not of pouvoir. Example: Je peux venir. — “I can come.” bientôt means “soon” or “shortly.” It places the coming near the present time, without specifying an exact time. Example: Elle reviendra bientôt. — “She will return soon.” Together, Quelqu'un peut venir bientôt has the pattern “someone can come soon”: the indefinite subject is followed by singular peut, the infinitive venir, and the time adverb bientôt. The complete meaning is “Someone can come shortly.”

10. J'attendrai dans la chambre.

    I will wait in the room.

    J'attendrai

    I will wait

    dans

    in

    chambre

    room

    More detail

    J'attendrai means “I will wait” here. It is the first-person singular future form of attendre (“to wait”): j'attends is present (“I am waiting” / “I wait”), while j'attendrai places the waiting in the future. The apostrophe in J' is the contracted form of je before a vowel sound. Example: J'attendrai ici. — “I will wait here.” dans expresses being inside a place or space and means “in” here. It is a preposition and does not change form. Example: Il est dans la voiture. — “He is in the car.” chambre means “room” here, specifically a room identified by the preceding feminine singular article la. The noun is feminine singular in this phrase; the article is separate from the noun. Example: La chambre est calme. — “The room is quiet.” Together, J'attendrai + dans + la chambre produces “I will wait in the room.” The speaker is the person who will wait, and dans la chambre identifies the place where the waiting will occur. The future form presents this as a future action.

11. Veuillez nous prévenir si le problème continue.

    Please let us know if the problem continues.

    Veuillez

    please

    nous

    us

    prévenir

    let know

    si

    if

    problème

    problem

    continue

    continues

    More detail

    Veuillez is the polite/formal imperative of vouloir used before an infinitive to make a request: Veuillez + infinitive means “please ...”. For example, Veuillez entrer. means “Please come in.” nous is the object pronoun “us” or “to us.” Here it identifies the people who should receive the information; its exact referents are not specified by the sentence. French object pronouns normally come before the verb: nous prévenir. prévenir is an infinitive meaning “to inform” or “to let know” in this construction. The useful pattern is prévenir quelqu’un (“inform someone”); with a pronoun, prévenir nous is not used here because the object pronoun is placed before the infinitive: nous prévenir. si introduces the condition “if.” In this sentence it introduces the condition under which the request applies. It is different from interrogative si in some other uses, but here the intended meaning is clearly conditional. problème is a masculine noun meaning “problem.” The article le marks this noun as definite: “the problem.” A useful related expression is un problème, “a problem”; the indefinite article does not by itself state a numerical count here. continue is the present-tense third-person singular form of continuer, “to continue.” The subject is le problème, so the verb agrees with that singular noun. For example, Le bruit continue. means “The noise continues.” Together, Veuillez nous prévenir means “Please let us know,” and si le problème continue gives the condition: “if the problem continues.” The complete utterance therefore means “Please let us know if the problem continues.”