Borrowing a Laptop Charger at Work | Learn French in English

Sentence explanations

1. La batterie de mon ordinateur portable est presque vide.

   My laptop battery is almost empty.

   batterie

   battery

   mon

   my

   ordinateur

   computer

   portable

   portable

   est

   is

   presque

   almost

   vide

   empty

   More detail

   batterie means battery here. It is a feminine noun: une batterie, plural des batteries. In this sentence it refers to the laptop’s battery, not to the laptop itself. mon means my. It is the possessive determiner used with a singular masculine noun, as in mon ordinateur. French also uses mon before a singular feminine noun beginning with a vowel sound, but that is not the reason here: ordinateur is masculine. Compare ma batterie (“my battery”), where the feminine noun begins with a consonant sound. ordinateur means computer. Its useful compound expression here is ordinateur portable, literally a portable computer and naturally “laptop.” The adjective portable follows the noun in this expression. The noun’s plural is ordinateurs. portable means portable in general, and in ordinateur portable it helps form the usual French expression for “laptop.” It agrees with ordinateur in masculine singular here: portable. For a feminine singular noun, the corresponding adjective form is portable as well; the written form does not change in that pair. est is the third-person singular present form of être (“to be”). The pattern X est Y states that X is Y or is in a particular state. Here, est links la batterie de mon ordinateur portable with the state vide. presque is an adverb meaning almost or nearly. It modifies vide, so the battery is not described as completely empty; it is close to that state. A reusable pattern is presque + adjective, as in La bouteille est presque pleine (“The bottle is almost full”). vide is an adjective meaning empty. It is feminine singular here because it describes la batterie. Its written form is the same in masculine and feminine singular: un sac vide / une batterie vide. Its plural is vides for both genders. Here it describes the battery’s charge state, not an empty physical container. Together, la batterie de mon ordinateur portable means “my laptop battery”: de links the battery to the laptop, and mon ordinateur portable identifies the laptop as belonging to the speaker. est presque vide says that this battery is nearly empty. The complete utterance is therefore “My laptop battery is almost empty.”

2. Tu peux emprunter mon chargeur jusqu'à la réunion.

   You can borrow my charger until the meeting.

   Tu peux

   you can

   emprunter

   borrow

   chargeur

   charger

   jusqu'à

   until, up to

   réunion

   meeting

   More detail

   Tu peux means “you can” here. peux is the second-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 tu peux + infinitive is a reusable way to say that someone can do something. Example: Tu peux attendre. — “You can wait.” emprunter means “to borrow”: to take and use something with the expectation of returning it. It is an infinitive after peux. Do not confuse it with prêter, “to lend,” which describes the owner’s action. Example: Je peux emprunter ton stylo ? — “Can I borrow your pen?” chargeur means “charger,” here the device used to charge a battery. It is a masculine noun: un chargeur, mon chargeur. The possessive mon identifies it as the speaker’s charger; it does not mean “one charger.” Example: J’ai besoin d’un chargeur. — “I need a charger.” jusqu’à means “until” when it introduces a time limit, and “up to” for an endpoint more generally. It is written with the contraction à after jusqu-: jusqu’à. Example: Je travaille jusqu’à cinq heures. — “I work until five o’clock.” réunion means “meeting.” It is a feminine noun: une réunion, la réunion. In jusqu’à la réunion, la marks a specific meeting already identifiable in the situation; the phrase sets the endpoint for the borrowing period. Example: La réunion commence à neuf heures. — “The meeting starts at nine.” Together, Tu peux emprunter expresses permission or ability addressed to “you,” and mon chargeur specifies what may be borrowed. jusqu’à la réunion limits the borrowing to the time up to the meeting. Thus the whole utterance means: “You can borrow my charger until the meeting.”

3. Est-ce qu'il est compatible avec mon ordinateur portable ?

   Is it compatible with my laptop?

   Est-ce qu'il est

   Is it…?

   compatible

   compatible

   avec

   with

   mon

   my

   ordinateur

   computer

   portable

   portable

   More detail

   Est-ce qu'il est is a standard French question frame. Est-ce que turns a statement into a yes/no question, and il est means “it is” here; il is the subject represented as “it” in the fixed translation. The frame can be reused with another description: Est-ce qu'il est prêt ? means “Is it ready?” compatible means “compatible” here. It is the adjective related to compatibilité (“compatibility”). Its form is compatible for singular masculine and singular feminine; the plural form is compatibles. For example, Cette pièce est compatible. means “This part is compatible.” avec means “with” and introduces what something is compatible with. For example, compatible avec ce téléphone means “compatible with this phone.” mon means “my” before a singular masculine noun. It agrees with the possessed noun, not with the owner: mon ordinateur is “my computer,” while a feminine singular noun normally takes ma, as in ma voiture (“my car”). Mon does not by itself state how many owners or objects there are. ordinateur means “computer.” It is a masculine singular noun; its plural is ordinateurs. The possessive mon has this masculine-singular form because it modifies ordinateur in this phrase. portable means “portable” and, after ordinateur, helps form the common expression ordinateur portable, meaning “laptop.” In this expression it describes the type of computer. Portable has the same spelling for singular masculine and singular feminine, while the plural form is portables. Together, compatible avec mon ordinateur portable means “compatible with my laptop.” The question frame places that description after Est-ce qu'il est, producing the complete meaning: “Is it compatible with my laptop?”

4. Il devrait être compatible, mais vérifie d'abord le connecteur.

   It should be, but check the connector first.

   devrait

   should

   être

   be

   compatible

   compatible

   vérifie

   check

   d'abord

   first

   connecteur

   connector

   More detail

   devrait means “should” here. It is the third-person singular present conditional of devoir, followed by an infinitive: il devrait être = “it should be.” The conditional gives an expectation or qualified assessment, rather than stating the fact directly. Example: Elle devrait arriver bientôt. — “She should arrive soon.” être is the infinitive “to be.” After a conjugated form such as devrait, French uses the infinitive: devrait être, not a second conjugated verb. Example: Ça doit être simple. — “That must be simple.” compatible is an adjective meaning “compatible.” In this sentence it describes the subject introduced by Il; the translation identifies that subject as “it.” The spelling is the same for masculine and feminine singular, while the plural form is compatibles. Example: Cette pièce est compatible. — “This part is compatible.” vérifie is the informal singular imperative of vérifier, “to check.” It addresses one person with tu and gives a direct instruction. The imperative subject pronoun is normally omitted: Vérifie le câble. — “Check the cable.” This is distinct from vérifies, the ordinary present-tense form used with the subject tu: Tu vérifies le câble. — “You check the cable.” d'abord means “first” or “first of all.” It places the checking before another action or step. Example: Lis d'abord la notice. — “Read the instructions first.” connecteur is a masculine noun meaning “connector.” The phrase le connecteur uses the masculine singular definite article le; its plural is les connecteurs. Example: Le connecteur est propre. — “The connector is clean.” Together, Il devrait être compatible says “It should be compatible.” mais introduces a contrast, and vérifie d'abord le connecteur gives the instruction “but check the connector first.” The complete utterance therefore means: “It should be compatible, but check the connector first.”

5. Ça rentre, et la batterie se recharge maintenant.

   It fits, and the battery is charging now.

   Ça

   it

   rentre

   fits

   la batterie

   the battery

   se recharge

   is charging

   maintenant

   now

   More detail

   Ça is a demonstrative pronoun used as the subject here: “it.” The fixed translation identifies it as the thing whose fit is being described, but does not specify that thing more precisely. Unlike a demonstrative determiner, it stands on its own. Example: Ça marche. — “That works.” rentre is the present-tense form of rentrer for a third-person singular subject. In this sentence, rentrer means “to fit” or “to go in,” not “to return.” The form chain is rentrer → ça rentre; the ending reflects the singular subject. Example: La pièce rentre dans le boîtier. — “The part fits in the casing.” la batterie means “the battery.” Batterie is a feminine noun, so the definite article is la. The article identifies a particular battery in this utterance; it does not itself express a numerical count. Example: La batterie est faible. — “The battery is low.” se recharge is the third-person singular present form of the pronominal verb se recharger, meaning “to recharge” or, in this context, “to be charging.” Se is part of the verb construction: the battery is presented as undergoing the charging process. The base form is se recharger, not recharger alone. Example: Le téléphone se recharge. — “The phone is charging.” maintenant means “now” and places the charging process in the present time. It modifies the clause la batterie se recharge, rather than changing the meaning of rentre. Together, Ça rentre says “It fits.” The conjunction et links that statement to la batterie se recharge maintenant, “the battery is charging now.” The complete utterance is therefore: “It fits, and the battery is charging now.”

6. Remets-le sur mon bureau quand tu as fini.

   Put it back on my desk when you finish.

   Remets-le

   put it back

   sur

   on

   mon bureau

   my desk

   quand

   when

   tu as fini

   you finish

   More detail

   Remets-le is the command form of remettre, “to put back” or “to put again.” Remets is the second-person singular imperative, used with tu; the final -s belongs to this form. le is the masculine singular direct-object pronoun, placed after the imperative with a hyphen. In this sentence, the fixed translation identifies its meaning as “it.” Compare the infinitive remettre, the command remets, and the future form in the context sentence, remettrai (“I will put back”). sur introduces the surface or location where something is placed. Here it means “on,” as in sur la table (“on the table”). mon bureau means “my desk.” bureau is a masculine singular noun, and mon is the masculine singular possessive form used with it. Possessives agree with the possessed noun, not necessarily with the owner’s gender: mon bureau, but ma table (“my table”). quand means “when” and introduces the time condition for the action that follows. It is useful for linking an action to the time another action is completed. tu as fini means “you have finished” and, in this future-oriented time clause, naturally translates as “you finish” or “you’re finished.” as is the second-person singular present form of avoir; fini is the past participle of finir. The pattern tu as fini is the passé composé, formed here with avoir + fini. French can use this present-tense-looking form after quand for a completion that will occur in the future: Quand tu as fini, appelle-moi. — “When you finish, call me.” Together, Remets-le gives the command “put it back,” sur mon bureau specifies the destination “on my desk,” and quand tu as fini sets the time “when you finish.” The complete utterance is therefore: “Put it back on my desk when you finish.”

7. Je le remettrai avant que tu partes.

   I'll put it back before you leave.

   Je

   I

   le

   it

   remettrai

   will put back

   avant que

   before

   tu

   you

   partes

   leave

   More detail

   Je is the first-person singular subject pronoun, “I.” It identifies the speaker as the person who will perform the action. The corresponding plural subject is nous (“we”); for example, Nous partirons demain. means “We will leave tomorrow.” le is a third-person masculine singular direct-object pronoun. Here it refers to the item already under discussion, so the sentence says that the speaker will put it back. In French, this object pronoun normally comes before the conjugated verb: Je le prends means “I take it.” Its form is not the same as feminine singular la or plural les. remettrai is the first-person singular future form of remettre, “to put back” or “to replace.” The future stem is remettr-, with the ending -ai: je remettrai. The useful contrast is je remets (“I put back / I am putting back”) versus je remettrai (“I will put back”). The object pronoun appears before this verb: Je le remettrai. means “I will put it back.” avant que introduces an event that must happen before another event. In standard French, it is followed by the subjunctive rather than the indicative. The pattern is avant que + subject + subjunctive verb. For example, Pars avant qu'il arrive. means “Leave before he arrives.” tu is the second-person singular subject pronoun, “you,” used for one person in the familiar form. It is the subject of the clause introduced by avant que; it is not the subject of remettrai. The corresponding formal or plural form is vous. partes is the second-person singular present subjunctive of partir, “to leave.” The subjunctive form is required here by avant que: que tu partes. Compare the indicative tu pars (“you leave / you are leaving”) with the subjunctive que tu partes after this expression. The verb partir is irregular in this form: its stem is part-, and tu partes takes the subjunctive ending -es. Together, Je le remettrai means “I will put it back,” and avant que tu partes means “before you leave.” The complete utterance therefore means “I’ll put it back before you leave.” The future action of putting the item back is presented as occurring earlier than the other person’s leaving.

8. Ça me laisse assez de temps avant d'en avoir besoin à nouveau.

   That gives me enough time before I need it again.

   Ça

   that

   laisse

   leaves; gives

   assez

   enough

   temps

   time

   avant

   before

   en avoir besoin

   need it

   à nouveau

   again

   More detail

   Ça is a demonstrative pronoun meaning “that” or “that situation.” Here it is the subject of laisse; the fixed translation and context support taking it as the situation or action referred to in the surrounding exchange. Unlike a demonstrative adjective, it stands on its own and does not agree with a noun. laisse is the third-person singular present form of laisser. In this sentence, laisser means “to give” or “to allow” time, not physical “leave.” The useful pattern is ça laisse + amount of time: “that gives/allows + amount of time.” assez means “enough.” It commonly comes before the noun or adjective it quantifies: assez de temps means “enough time.” The form assez de is used before a noun; assez can also stand alone when the thing being measured is already understood. temps is the noun “time.” In assez de temps, de links the quantity expression to the noun. Temps has the same written form for singular and plural in many common uses, so the surrounding expression supplies the intended quantity here. avant introduces what happens earlier. Before an infinitive, French uses avant de + infinitive, as in avant de partir (“before leaving”). In this sentence, that pattern continues into d'en avoir besoin. en avoir besoin contains the reusable expression avoir besoin de, “to need.” avoir is the infinitive “to have,” and besoin is the noun “need”; together they express “need,” literally using “have need.” The pronoun en replaces the thing introduced by de: avoir besoin de quelque chose becomes en avoir besoin when that thing is already understood. Here the translation identifies that understood thing as “it.” à nouveau is an adverbial expression meaning “again” or “once more.” It applies to the needing in this sentence: the need will occur again, rather than describing a new object. Taken together, Ça me laisse assez de temps means “That gives me enough time.” avant d'en avoir besoin à nouveau adds “before needing it again”: avant de places the event later in time, en refers back to the understood item, and à nouveau marks a repeated need. The complete meaning is therefore “That gives me enough time before I need it again.”