Borrowing a screwdriver and returning it clean | Learn French in English

Sentence explanations

1. Est-ce que je peux emprunter ton tournevis pour une petite réparation ?

   Could I borrow your screwdriver for a small repair?

   Est-ce que

   opens a yes-or-no question

   je peux

   I can / may I

   emprunter

   borrow

   ton

   your

   tournevis

   screwdriver

   petite

   small

   réparation

   repair

   More detail

   Est-ce que opens a yes-or-no question in a neutral, reusable way. It does not add a separate meaning such as “what” or “whether”; it marks the following clause as a question. Pattern: Est-ce que + statement word order. je peux means “I can” here and, with the borrowing request, “may I.” peux is the first-person singular present form of pouvoir (“to be able to; can”). The subject is je, and peux has the form required with that subject. A useful contrast is je peux “I can” versus je ne peux pas “I cannot.” emprunter means “to borrow,” that is, to take something temporarily with the intention of returning it. It is an infinitive after peux: je peux emprunter = “I can/may borrow.” The construction pouvoir + infinitive is reusable for ability or permission, depending on context. Example: Je peux entrer ? — “May I come in?” ton means “your” for one person being addressed, before a masculine singular noun in this sentence. It is a possessive determiner: its form reflects the possessor as one informal “you” and the possessed noun as masculine singular. With a feminine singular noun, the usual form is ta, as in ta clé — “your key”; before a vowel sound, French can use ton with a feminine noun, as in ton amie — “your female friend.” Here it combines with tournevis in ton tournevis. tournevis means “screwdriver.” It is a noun whose singular and plural have the same written form; a determiner or the surrounding sentence can show the number. Here the possessive ton presents one screwdriver as belonging to the person addressed. petite means “small” here. It is the feminine singular form of the adjective petit, agreeing with réparation, which is feminine singular. The masculine singular form is petit; for example, un petit outil means “a small tool.” The adjective appears before the noun in this phrase. réparation means “repair.” It is a feminine noun, which is why the adjective is petite rather than masculine singular petit. The phrase une petite réparation refers to a small repair task. Une is an indefinite article; in this sentence it presents the repair as an unspecified one, not as a separately emphasized numerical count. The remaining short words connect these pieces: pour means “for,” expressing the purpose, and une is the indefinite article before petite réparation. Thus pour une petite réparation means “for a small repair.” Together, Est-ce que je peux emprunter ton tournevis pour une petite réparation ? asks whether the speaker may borrow the addressee’s screwdriver for a small repair. The question structure, pouvoir + infinitive, possessive determiner, and purpose phrase can be reused with other objects and purposes.

2. Il est dans la boîte à outils bleue.

   It is in the blue toolbox.

   Il est

   it is

   dans

   in

   la boîte à outils

   the toolbox

   bleue

   blue

   More detail

   Il est combines il, a third-person singular masculine subject pronoun, with est, the present-tense form of être (“to be”) for that subject. Here the combination states the location of “it.” French uses il with a masculine singular referent; the exact referent is not named in this sentence. A reusable pattern is [subject] est dans [place]. dans means “in” and introduces an interior location. It contrasts with sur (“on,” when something is on a surface). Example: Le tournevis est dans la boîte. — “The screwdriver is in the box.” la boîte à outils means “the toolbox.” boîte is a feminine singular noun meaning “box,” and la is its definite article. à outils specifies the box’s function: it is a box for tools. The full noun phrase is therefore a useful model for naming a container by its purpose. Example: J'ouvre la boîte à outils. — “I open the toolbox.” bleue means “blue” here and describes boîte. Its base form is bleu; the feminine singular form is bleue, with the final -e marking agreement with the feminine singular noun boîte. The adjective follows the noun in this phrase. For comparison, un outil bleu means “a blue tool,” while une boîte bleue means “a blue box.” Together, Il est identifies the subject as being in a location, dans la boîte à outils gives that interior location, and bleue specifies which toolbox: the blue one. The whole utterance means, “It is in the blue toolbox.”

3. Je dois serrer les supports de l'étagère.

   I need to tighten the shelf brackets.

   Je dois

   I need to

   serrer

   tighten

   les supports

   the brackets

   l'étagère

   the shelf

   More detail

   Je dois uses devoir in the present tense, first-person singular: je dois. With an infinitive, it expresses what I need to or must do. The subject is je (“I”); dois is the form that changes for the subject. For example, Je dois partir. means “I need to leave.” serrer is the infinitive meaning “to tighten.” After dois, French uses the infinitive directly: je dois serrer (“I need to tighten”). The same verb can be reused with other objects, such as serrer la vis (“to tighten the screw”). les supports means “the brackets.” supports is the plural of support, a noun for something that holds or supports another object. The definite article is les for plural nouns; the adjective or noun itself shows plurality here through the final -s in supports (normally not pronounced separately). l'étagère means “the shelf.” étagère is a feminine noun. Before a vowel sound, la becomes l', so la étagère is not used; the written form is l'étagère. In de l'étagère, de links the brackets to the shelf, giving “of the shelf” or, naturally here, “the shelf brackets.” Together, Je dois + serrer expresses the need to perform the action, and les supports de l'étagère identifies the objects being tightened and their relation to the shelf. The whole utterance means: “I need to tighten the shelf brackets.”

4. Utilise le tournevis de taille moyenne.

   Use the medium screwdriver.

   Utilise

   use

   tournevis

   screwdriver

   taille

   size

   moyenne

   medium

   More detail

   Utilise is the singular informal imperative of utiliser (“to use”). For a regular French -er verb, the tu imperative usually has the same form as the present-tense tu form but without the subject pronoun: tu utilises → utilise. Example: Utilise ce bouton. — “Use this button.” tournevis means “screwdriver.” It is a masculine noun, so the definite article here is le: le tournevis. The plural is tournevis as well; the article shows the number: les tournevis means “the screwdrivers.” taille means “size” here. In de taille moyenne, it is a feminine noun used in the expression “of medium size.” The word taille can have other meanings in other contexts, but here it describes the screwdriver’s size. moyenne means “medium” in this expression and agrees with the feminine noun taille: taille moyenne. Its masculine counterpart is moyen, as in un tournevis moyen when the adjective directly modifies the masculine noun. The fixed sentence instead uses the noun phrase de taille moyenne. Together, le tournevis de taille moyenne means “the medium screwdriver” literally as “the screwdriver of medium size.” The imperative Utilise makes this a direct instruction: “Use the medium screwdriver.”

5. Il s'adapte mieux à ces supports.

   It fits those brackets better.

   s'adapte

   fits; adapts

   mieux

   better

   supports

   brackets

   More detail

   s'adapte is the third-person singular present form of s'adapter, “to adapt” or, with a thing and à, “to fit”. The reflexive form is part of the verb: il s'adapte à quelque chose. Here, the intended meaning is that it fits the brackets. Example: Cette pièce s'adapte au support. — “This part fits the bracket.” mieux is the comparative form of bien: bien = “well”, mieux = “better”. It compares how well the fitting works here. Do not confuse it with meilleur, which is the comparative form used with a noun: Ce réglage fonctionne mieux. — “This setting works better.” supports is the plural of the noun support, meaning a support or bracket. In this sentence, the fixed translation identifies these supports as brackets. The plural form indicates more than one bracket; un support is singular. ces is the plural demonstrative determiner used with supports, meaning “these/those” according to context. The reusable pattern is s'adapter à + noun: Il s'adapte à ces supports means “It fits those brackets.” Adding mieux gives Il s'adapte mieux à ces supports, “It fits those brackets better.”

6. Quand est-ce que je dois le rapporter ?

   When should I return it?

   Quand est-ce que

   when?

   je dois

   I should / I must

   le

   it

   rapporter

   return / bring back

   More detail

   Quand est-ce que asks about time: “when?” It is a common, neutral question pattern in French. The reusable pattern is Quand est-ce que + subject + verb ... ? For example, Quand est-ce que tu arrives ? means “When are you arriving?” je dois contains devoir, “must / have to,” in the present tense, first-person singular form. Here it expresses an obligation or expected action, which the fixed translation renders as “should.” Other present forms include tu dois (“you must”), il/elle doit (“he/she must”), and nous devons (“we must”). For example, Je dois partir. means “I have to leave.” le is a masculine-singular direct-object pronoun, also used for an unspecified “it” when the context does not identify the referent more specifically. It comes before the infinitive here: le rapporter, “return it.” French object pronouns normally go before the verb form they belong to. For example, Je vais le prendre. means “I am going to take it.” rapporter is an infinitive meaning “to bring back” or “to return.” Its useful present-tense forms include je rapporte (“I bring back”), tu rapportes (“you bring back”), and il/elle rapporte (“he/she brings back”). Do not confuse it with apporter, which generally means “to bring” something to a place or person rather than bring it back. For example, Je rapporte le livre demain. means “I will bring the book back tomorrow.” Together, Quand est-ce que asks for the time, je dois expresses the speaker’s obligation, le refers to the thing being returned, and rapporter names the action. The whole utterance therefore means: “When should I return it?”

7. Rapporte-le avant le dîner, s'il te plaît.

   Please bring it back before dinner.

   Rapporte-le

   bring it back

   avant

   before

   dîner

   dinner

   s'il te plaît

   please

   More detail

   Rapporte-le is the informal singular imperative of rapporter, “to bring back” or “to return.” The imperative addresses one person directly. The -le is the direct-object pronoun “it/him” attached to the affirmative imperative; here, the fixed translation and context support “it.” In ordinary non-imperative placement, the same pronoun normally comes before the verb: Tu le rapportes. — “You bring it back.” avant means “before” and introduces the time limit for the action. A reusable pattern is avant + noun: avant le départ — “before the departure.” In this sentence, avant is followed by le dîner, not by a verb clause. dîner is the noun “dinner” here. French also has the verb dîner, “to have dinner”; the surrounding article le identifies the observed use as the noun. The accent î belongs to both written forms. S'il te plaît is the common informal singular way to say “please.” It is a fixed polite expression: s' represents si before il, and te addresses one familiar or informal person. A more formal or plural form uses S'il vous plaît. Together, Rapporte-le gives the requested action, avant le dîner sets its deadline, and s'il te plaît adds the polite request. The whole utterance means: “Please bring it back before dinner.”

8. S'il prend de la poussière, je l'essuierai d'abord.

   If it gets dusty, I'll wipe it off first.

   S'il

   if it

   prend

   gets

   de la poussière

   dust

   je

   I

   l'

   it

   essuierai

   will wipe

   d'abord

   first

   More detail

   S'il combines si (“if”) with il (“he/it”); si is elided before il. Here il is the grammatical subject represented as “it” in the fixed translation. French commonly uses si with a present-tense condition and a future result: Si ... , je ...-rai (“If ..., I will ...”). prend is the present form of prendre for il/elle/on. With de la poussière, prendre de la poussière means “to get dusty” here. The present form appears in the condition introduced by si. de la poussière means “dust.” De la is a partitive form, presenting dust as an uncounted substance rather than asserting a particular amount. The noun is poussière; its feminine grammatical gender is reflected in la. je means “I” and is the subject of the result clause. French subject pronouns normally precede the conjugated verb: je travaille = “I work.” Before a vowel sound, je can become j', as in j'essuierai later in this sentence. l' is the elided direct-object pronoun le or la before a vowel sound. In this sentence it means “it,” referring to the object being brought back in the supplied context; its grammatical gender is not identifiable from the elided form. As a direct object, it comes before the conjugated verb: Je l'essuie = “I wipe it.” essuierai is the first-person singular future form of essuyer, “to wipe.” The useful chain is essuyer → j'essuierai (“I will wipe”); the spelling changes in the stem before the future ending. The object pronoun comes before this verb, giving je l'essuierai (“I will wipe it”). d'abord means “first” in this sentence and specifies that the wiping will be the initial action in the relevant sequence. It is an adverb; the future meaning comes from essuierai. Together, S'il prend de la poussière means “If it gets dusty.” je l'essuierai means “I will wipe it,” and d'abord adds “first.” The complete utterance is: “If it gets dusty, I'll wipe it off first.”

9. Cela aide à garder les outils en bon état.

   That helps keep the tools in good shape.

   Cela

   That

   aide

   helps

   garder

   keep

   outils

   tools

   bon

   good

   état

   condition

   More detail

   Cela is a demonstrative pronoun meaning “that” here. It serves as the subject of aide; French ça is a more informal alternative in many contexts. A demonstrative pronoun’s grammatical form does not by itself identify a particular noun referent. aide is the third-person singular present form of aider (“to help”). The subject here is Cela, so the singular form is used. A useful pattern is aider à + infinitive: Cela aide à comprendre. — “That helps to understand.” garder is the infinitive of garder, “to keep” or “to maintain.” After aider à, the following verb remains in the infinitive. The pattern aider à garder + noun + description can be reused for maintaining something in a certain condition. outils is the plural of the noun outil, “tool.” The plural definite article les appears before it in the utterance: les outils, “the tools.” bon is an adjective meaning “good” here. It modifies état, which is masculine singular, so the masculine singular form bon is used. Its feminine singular form is bonne, as in une bonne idée — “a good idea.” état is a masculine noun meaning “condition” or “state.” The construction en bon état is a common way to say “in good condition” or “in good shape.” Since état is masculine singular, the adjective is bon; with a feminine singular noun, the form would be bonne. Together, Cela aide à garder les outils en bon état has the pattern subject + aider à + infinitive + object + en + adjective + noun: something helps maintain the tools in good condition. The complete meaning is “That helps keep the tools in good shape.”