Using the library printer | Learn French in English

Sentence explanations

1. Comment utiliser l'imprimante de la bibliothèque ?

   How do I use the printer in the library?

   Comment

   how

   utiliser

   to use

   l'imprimante

   the printer

   bibliothèque

   library

   More detail

   Comment asks about the manner or method: “how”. In this question it introduces the method for using something. Compare Pourquoi utiliser l'imprimante ? — “Why use the printer?” utiliser is the infinitive “to use”. After Comment, the infinitive creates a general “how to …” question: Comment utiliser cette machine ? — “How do you use this machine?” The infinitive does not itself state who will use it; the English translation supplies the natural first-person perspective. l'imprimante means “the printer”. imprimante is a feminine noun, and its base form is imprimante; the form does not show singular through a special ending here, but the singular definite article is l'. l' is the elided form of la before a vowel sound. The next context confirms that this is the printer being selected: Sélectionne l'imprimante. — “Choose the printer.” bibliothèque means “library”. Its base form is bibliothèque, a feminine noun. In the source, de la bibliothèque means “in/of the library”; de la links the printer to the library. The feminine article is la because bibliothèque begins with a consonant sound, unlike l'imprimante. Together, Comment utiliser asks for the method, and l'imprimante de la bibliothèque identifies the object as the library's printer. The whole utterance therefore means “How do I use the printer in the library?”

2. D'abord, sélectionne l'imprimante sur cet écran.

   First, choose the printer on this screen.

   D'abord

   first

   sélectionne

   choose; select

   l'imprimante

   the printer

   sur

   on

   cet

   this

   écran

   screen

   More detail

   D'abord means “first” here and places this instruction at the beginning of a sequence. This is the standard written form of the adverb; do not write de'abord. A reusable example is D'abord, ouvre le menu. — “First, open the menu.” sélectionne means “choose” or “select” in this sentence. It is the present imperative form of sélectionner addressed to one person with tu; the subject is understood rather than written. The same verb appears in an ordinary present-tense sentence with an expressed subject: Tu sélectionnes une option. — “You select an option.” The imperative is what makes sélectionne an instruction here. l'imprimante means “the printer.” The noun is imprimante, a feminine noun, and la becomes l' before the vowel at the start of imprimante. The definite article presents the printer as a specific one understood in the situation; it does not itself assert a numeric count. The related indefinite phrase is une imprimante, “a printer.” sur means “on” here and introduces the location associated with the screen. In this use, sur is followed by a noun phrase: sur l'écran means “on the screen.” Its exact relation depends on context; here the fixed translation supports “on this screen.” cet means “this” and modifies the following noun. It is the masculine singular form of the demonstrative determiner, used before a vowel sound or a silent h; compare ce livre — “this book” — and cette page — “this page.” The form agrees with écran, not with the preceding noun. écran means “screen.” It is a masculine noun, so the demonstrative phrase is cet écran, “this screen.” The acute accent is part of the spelling. A reusable phrase is sur un écran, “on a screen.” Together, D'abord orders the action first, sélectionne gives a one-person instruction, and l'imprimante is the object to select. sur cet écran identifies the relevant location: “on this screen.” The complete utterance is therefore: “First, choose the printer on this screen.”

3. Est-ce que je peux choisir l'impression recto verso ?

   Can I choose double-sided printing?

   Est-ce que

   question marker

   je peux

   I can / may

   choisir

   choose

   l'impression

   printing

   recto verso

   double-sided

   More detail

   Est-ce que introduces a yes/no question in French. It does not itself mean “can” or “may”; it marks the following clause as a question. For example: Est-ce que tu viens ? means “Are you coming?” je peux uses peux, the first-person singular present form of pouvoir (“to be able to; may”). The useful pattern is je peux + infinitive: Je peux choisir means “I can choose” or, as a request for permission, “May I choose?” Other present forms include tu peux and il/elle peut; the spelling changes with the subject. choisir is an infinitive meaning “to choose.” After pouvoir, the following verb stays in the infinitive: Je peux changer le réglage means “I can change the setting.” The subject of choisir is understood to be je, supplied by je peux. l'impression means “the printing” here. It is the noun impression, with the definite article la elided to l' before a vowel sound. In this context, the noun refers to the printing option or process, not to a personal opinion or an image made by pressing something. recto verso specifies that the printing uses both sides of the paper: “double-sided.” This fixed expression is used after a noun such as impression; it can also occur in imprimer recto verso, “to print double-sided.” Together, Est-ce que je peux choisir l'impression recto verso ? forms a yes/no question: “Can I choose double-sided printing?” The question asks whether the speaker may select that printing option.

4. Change le réglage avant d'imprimer.

   Change the setting before you print.

   Change

   change

   le réglage

   the setting

   avant

   before

   d'imprimer

   to print

   More detail

   Change is the imperative of changer (“to change”). It addresses one person informally; the subject is understood as tu. The imperative gives a direct instruction. For a more formal or plural instruction, French uses changez instead. le réglage means “the setting.” Réglage is a masculine noun, so it takes the masculine singular definite article le here. Its plural is les réglages (“the settings”). avant means “before.” In this sentence it introduces an action that must happen earlier. Before an infinitive, French normally uses the pattern avant de + infinitive. d'imprimer means “to print.” This is de shortened to d' before the vowel of imprimer; imprimer is the infinitive. The same verb appears in other forms, such as j'imprime (“I print”) and ils impriment (“they print”). Together, avant d'imprimer means “before you print”: the subject of the infinitive is understood from the instruction as the person being addressed. The complete utterance is therefore an instruction to change the setting before printing: “Change the setting before you print.”

5. J'ai seulement besoin d'imprimer un court document.

   I only need to print a short document.

   J'ai … besoin d'

   I need

   seulement

   only

   imprimer

   to print

   court

   short

   document

   document

   More detail

   J'ai and besoin d': Together, these form the reusable pattern avoir besoin de + noun or avoir besoin de + infinitive, meaning “to need something” or “to need to do something.” J'ai is je plus the present-tense form ai of avoir (“to have”); it is first-person singular. The de becomes d' before the vowel of imprimer. Example: J'ai besoin de partir. — “I need to leave.” seulement: This means “only” here and limits the need expressed by j'ai besoin de. It therefore gives the meaning “I only need to print,” rather than adding a separate action. Example: Elle veut seulement écouter. — “She only wants to listen.” imprimer: This is the infinitive “to print.” After avoir besoin de, French uses de followed by an infinitive when the needed action is being expressed: avoir besoin d'imprimer. The same infinitive can appear after other structures, for example Je vais imprimer le document. — “I am going to print the document.” court: Here this adjective means “short” and describes the length of document. It is masculine singular in this form because it agrees with the masculine singular noun document; the adjective itself carries the agreement. Its feminine singular form is courte, as in une courte lettre — “a short letter.” document: This noun means “document.” The phrase un court document is an indefinite noun phrase: un marks a singular masculine noun, while court agrees with document. The article does not by itself assert a numerical count; it presents an unspecified document in this sentence. Putting the parts together, J'ai besoin d'imprimer expresses “I need to print,” seulement restricts that need to this action, and un court document identifies what is to be printed. The complete meaning is: “I only need to print a short document.”

6. Alors, vérifie l'aperçu avant de commencer.

   Then check the preview before you start.

   Alors

   then

   vérifie

   check

   l'aperçu

   the preview

   avant de

   before …ing

   commencer

   start

   More detail

   Alors means “then” here and links this instruction to what has just been said. It can also introduce a conclusion or transition in other contexts, so its exact meaning depends on the surrounding sentence. vérifie comes from vérifier, “to check” or “to verify.” Here it is the imperative for tu, the informal singular “you”: vérifie ! = “check!” The final -e is part of this imperative form. Example: Vérifie l'adresse. — “Check the address.” l'aperçu means “the preview.” aperçu is a masculine noun, but the definite article le becomes l' before a vowel sound: le aperçu is not used; the form is l'aperçu. Example: L'aperçu est correct. — “The preview is correct.” avant de introduces an action that happens earlier than another action. Before an infinitive, the reusable pattern is avant de + infinitive: avant de commencer = “before starting” or “before you start.” Before a noun phrase, French normally uses avant directly, as in avant la réunion — “before the meeting.” commencer is the infinitive “to start” or “to begin.” The infinitive follows de in avant de commencer; it does not itself show the person performing the action. The same verb can be conjugated when a subject is stated: je commence = “I start,” while tu commences = “you start.” Together, vérifie l'aperçu gives the instruction “check the preview,” and avant de commencer places that check before the starting action. With Alors at the beginning, the complete utterance means: “Then check the preview before you start.”

7. Où sortent les pages imprimées ?

   Where do the printed pages come out?

   Où

   where

   sortent

   come out

   pages

   pages

   imprimées

   printed

   More detail

   Où means “where” and asks about a place. It is used for locations, not for asking who or what. Example: Où travaille-t-elle ? — “Where does she work?” sortent is the present-tense third-person plural form of sortir, “to come out” or “to go out.” Here it describes the printed pages coming out. The reusable pattern ils/elles sortent means “they come out/go out.” Example: Les feuilles sortent de l’imprimante. — “The sheets come out of the printer.” pages is the plural of the feminine noun page, “page.” Its plural form refers here to multiple pages. imprimées means “printed” here. It is the feminine plural form of imprimé, agreeing with the feminine plural noun pages: page imprimée means “printed page,” and pages imprimées means “printed pages.” The feminine and plural agreement is shown in the form imprimées; the final -e marks the feminine form and the final -s marks the plural. Together, Où asks for the location, sortent says that something comes out, and les pages imprimées identifies what comes out. The whole sentence therefore means: “Where do the printed pages come out?” The present-tense verb comes before the noun subject in this question: Où sortent les pages imprimées ?.

8. Elles sortent dans le bac en dessous.

   They come out in the tray below.

   Elles

   they (feminine plural)

   sortent

   come out

   bac

   tray

   en dessous

   below

   More detail

   Elles is the third-person feminine plural pronoun, meaning “they” for the printed pages identified in the preceding question. French uses elles for an all-feminine plural group, or a mixed group only when masculine plural agreement is not used; the masculine plural counterpart is ils. sortent is the present-tense third-person plural form of sortir, “to come out” or “to go out.” The form matches elles: je sors, tu sors, il/elle sort, ils/elles sortent. Here, the surrounding location shows the relevant sense: the pages come out in a tray. bac is a masculine noun meaning “tray” or “bin.” Its masculine singular form appears with le in le bac; in this sentence, dans le bac means “in the tray.” The word can refer to a container more generally, but “tray” is the intended meaning here. en dessous is a locative expression meaning “below” or “underneath.” It identifies the tray’s position rather than describing the pages’ action. The expression can also be followed by de plus a reference when French specifies what something is below, as in en dessous de la table, “under the table.” Together, Elles sortent says “They come out,” dans le bac places the action in the tray, and en dessous specifies which tray: the one below. The complete utterance therefore means, “They come out in the tray below.”