Planning for a very hot day | Learn French in English

Sentence explanations

1. Il va faire très chaud aujourd'hui.

   It's going to be really hot today.

   va

   is going to

   faire … chaud

   be hot

   très

   very

   aujourd'hui

   today

   More detail

   va is the third-person singular present form of aller (“to go”). Here, with the infinitive that follows, aller + infinitive expresses the near future: va faire = “is going to be/do.” The subject Il is the grammatical subject of this weather expression; in this sentence it does not identify a particular person. faire is the infinitive “to do/make,” but in faire chaud French uses faire impersonally to describe the temperature. The complete expression faire chaud means “to be hot,” rather than describing an agent who makes something hot. The related temperature expression faire froid means “to be cold.” très means “very” and intensifies the adjective that follows it. Here it modifies chaud, producing “very hot” or, naturally in the translation, “really hot.” chaud is the adjective “hot” in its masculine singular form. In this impersonal temperature expression, it appears as chaud; this form is not agreeing with a named physical object in the sentence. For comparison, plus chaud means “hotter” and le plus chaud means “the hottest.” aujourd'hui means “today.” The apostrophe is part of the written form, and the word refers to the current day in relation to the time of speaking or writing. Together, Il va faire marks a near-future event, très chaud describes the temperature, and aujourd'hui gives the time. The whole utterance means: “It’s going to be really hot today.”

2. Évitons de marcher pendant le moment le plus chaud de la journée.

   Let's avoid walking during the hottest part of the day.

   Évitons

   Let's avoid

   marcher

   to walk

   pendant

   during

   moment

   part; period

   le plus chaud

   the hottest

   journée

   day

   More detail

   Évitons is the first-person plural imperative of éviter (“to avoid”). French uses this form to suggest an action jointly: Évitons de... means “Let’s avoid...”. The preposition de introduces the infinitive that names what should be avoided. Example: Évitons de parler trop fort. — “Let’s avoid speaking too loudly.” marcher is the infinitive “to walk.” After éviter, French uses de plus an infinitive: éviter de marcher — “avoid walking.” This is a reusable pattern; the verb after de remains in the infinitive rather than taking a subject-specific form. pendant means “during” and introduces the time period in which something happens. Here it connects the walking to a particular part of the day: pendant ... — “during ...”. Example: Je lis pendant le voyage. — “I read during the trip.” moment means “moment” or, in this context, “period.” It is a masculine noun, as shown by le in le moment. The phrase le moment de la journée means “the part or period of the day.” le plus chaud means “the hottest.” chaud is the adjective “hot”; its base form is chaud, and its superlative form here is le plus chaud, literally “the most hot.” Because it describes masculine singular moment, the adjective is masculine singular: chaud. The superlative pattern is le plus + adjective for “the most ...” in this use. Example: C'est le jour le plus chaud. — “It is the hottest day.” journée means “day,” viewed as the span of daytime or a whole day. It is feminine, so de la journée means “of the day”: de la combines de with the feminine singular article la. This differs from the masculine noun jour, which would take du in a comparable phrase, as in la fin du jour — “the end of the day.” Together, Évitons de marcher gives “Let’s avoid walking,” and pendant le moment le plus chaud de la journée specifies when: “during the hottest part of the day.” The complete utterance is therefore: “Let’s avoid walking during the hottest part of the day.”

3. Je mettrai de la crème solaire avant de partir.

   I'll put on sunscreen before we leave.

   mettrai

   will put on

   crème

   cream

   solaire

   sun-related

   avant de

   before

   partir

   leave

   More detail

   mettrai is the first-person singular future form of mettre, meaning “I will put/apply” here. The ending -ai marks “I” in the simple future: je mettrai = “I will put on.” In other contexts, mettre can mean “to put” more generally, with the object and context specifying what is being put where. crème is a noun meaning “cream.” In de la crème, de la is the partitive article used for an unspecified amount of a mass noun: “some cream.” It does not by itself state a numeric quantity. Example: Je mets de la crème. — “I put on some cream.” solaire is an adjective meaning “solar” or, in this context, “sun-related.” It describes crème, giving the compound meaning “sunscreen.” The adjective has the same written form with masculine and feminine singular nouns; its plural form is solaires. avant de introduces an action that happens earlier than another action: “before.” It is followed here by an infinitive, rather than a conjugated verb. Reusable pattern: avant de + infinitive = “before doing something.” Example: Lave-toi les mains avant de manger. — “Wash your hands before eating.” partir is the infinitive meaning “to leave” or “to depart.” After avant de, it remains in the infinitive: avant de partir = “before leaving.” The infinitive does not itself show who leaves; the intended translation here identifies the action as “we leave.” Together, Je mettrai de la crème solaire means “I will put on sunscreen,” and avant de partir adds the earlier timing: “before we leave.” The complete utterance is therefore: “I’ll put on sunscreen before we leave.”

4. Reste aussi à l'ombre chaque fois que tu peux.

   Stay in the shade whenever you can, too.

   Reste

   stay; remain

   aussi

   also; too

   ombre

   shade

   chaque fois que

   whenever; each time that

   tu peux

   you can

   More detail

   Reste is the singular informal imperative of rester, “to stay” or “to remain.” It gives a direct instruction to tu. Compare Reste ici. — “Stay here.” The present-tense form for “you stay” is also tu restes, with -s; the imperative here is reste without that final -s. aussi means “also” or “too.” In this sentence it adds this instruction to another relevant precaution: “Stay in the shade too.” Its position after the imperative is natural here. Example: Prends aussi de l'eau. — “Take some water too.” ombre is the noun “shade.” The sentence uses it in the expression à l'ombre, literally “in/at the shade,” meaning in a shaded place. Ombre is feminine, which is why the definite article is l' before its vowel sound; à l' is not a plural form. Example: Nous attendons à l'ombre. — “We are waiting in the shade.” chaque fois que introduces a repeated condition: “each time that” or, naturally here, “whenever.” It is a reusable time expression, not a single one-time event. Example: Chaque fois que tu viens, nous parlons français. — “Whenever you come, we speak French.” tu peux means “you can” here. Peux is the present-tense form of pouvoir for tu; the subject pronoun is required in this clause. Pouvoir expresses ability or possibility, so chaque fois que tu peux means “whenever you are able to.” Example: Tu peux partir maintenant. — “You can leave now.” Together, Reste aussi gives the added instruction “stay too,” à l'ombre specifies the place, and chaque fois que tu peux specifies the repeated opportunity or condition. The complete meaning is: “Stay in the shade whenever you can, too.”

5. Je pourrais vite me déshydrater avec cette chaleur.

   I could get dehydrated quickly in this heat.

   Je pourrais

   I could

   vite

   quickly

   me déshydrater

   get dehydrated

   cette

   this

   chaleur

   heat

   More detail

   Je pourrais means “I could” here. pourrais is the first-person singular conditional present of pouvoir (“to be able to,” or “could” in this context). The conditional presents the dehydration as a possible outcome, not a certain one. Compare Je peux me déshydrater = “I can get dehydrated” and Je pourrais me déshydrater = “I could get dehydrated.” vite is an adverb meaning “quickly” or “soon,” and it modifies the event that follows in the sentence. Example: Il marche vite. — “He walks quickly.” me déshydrater is the first-person singular pronominal infinitive of se déshydrater, “to become dehydrated.” After pourrais, the following verb remains in the infinitive: Je pourrais me déshydrater — “I could get dehydrated.” The form me identifies the person affected as “me”; it is not the object of a separate finite verb here. Example: Tu peux te reposer. — “You can rest.” cette is the feminine singular demonstrative determiner meaning “this.” It agrees with the noun it determines. Here, its grammatical agreement is with chaleur, which is feminine singular. The masculine singular counterpart is ce, as in ce soleil — “this sun.” chaleur is a feminine noun meaning “heat.” The phrase avec cette chaleur means “in this heat” in the fixed translation: avec literally introduces the heat as the surrounding condition. Example: Avec cette chaleur, je bois souvent. — “In this heat, I drink often.” Together, Je pourrais me déshydrater expresses the possible result “I could get dehydrated”; vite adds the speed “quickly”; and avec cette chaleur gives the condition “in this heat.” The complete utterance therefore means: “I could get dehydrated quickly in this heat.”

6. Emporte de l'eau et bois souvent.

   Carry water and drink often.

   Emporte

   carry; take along

   de l'eau

   some water

   bois

   drink

   souvent

   often

   More detail

   Emporte is the second-person singular imperative of emporter, meaning “take/carry along” here. The imperative gives a direct instruction, with tu understood as the subject. Compare porte (“carry”) when the focus is carrying something, and emporte when taking it with you from one place to another. Example: Emporte ton téléphone. — “Take your phone with you.” de l'eau means “water” as an unmeasured amount. eau is a feminine noun, and the partitive form is de l' before its vowel sound. This construction presents some quantity without specifying a count or exact amount. Example: Je bois de l'eau. — “I drink water.” bois is also a second-person singular imperative, this time from boire (“to drink”). Its form is identical to the present-tense form used with tu: tu bois; the imperative use is identified by its position as an instruction. Example: Bois lentement. — “Drink slowly.” souvent is an adverb meaning “often” or “frequently.” It modifies the action bois, indicating that the drinking should happen repeatedly rather than only once. Example: Elle vient souvent. — “She often comes.” The two imperatives are coordinated: Emporte de l'eau instructs the listener to take water along, and bois souvent instructs the same listener to drink frequently. Together, they mean: “Carry water and drink often.”

7. Allons au parc plus tard, quand il fera plus frais.

   Let's visit the park later when it's cooler.

   Allons

   Let's go

   au

   to the

   parc

   park

   plus tard

   later

   quand

   when

   fera

   will be

   plus frais

   cooler

   More detail

   Allons is the first-person plural imperative of aller (“to go”). It means “let’s go” and presents the action as a suggestion including the speaker and others. Compare Allons-y ! (“Let’s go!”), where y means “there.” au is the contraction of à + le, used here before the masculine singular noun parc: à + le parc → au parc. This contraction is different from à la before a feminine singular noun and aux before plural nouns. parc is a masculine singular noun meaning “park.” Its plural is parcs; the article changes as well: un parc (“a park”), les parcs (“the parks”). plus tard is an adverbial expression meaning “later,” indicating a time after the current moment. It is not an adjective modifying parc. quand introduces a time clause and means “when.” In this sentence it links the suggested visit with the later condition described afterward. fera is the third-person singular future form of faire (“to do; to make”). In il fera ..., French uses il as the grammatical subject for a weather description, so the expression concerns what the weather will be like. The future form is used because the cooler conditions are expected later: je ferai (“I will do/make”), il fera (“it will be / it will do or make,” depending on context). plus frais is the comparative form of the adjective frais (“cool” or “fresh”), meaning “cooler” here. plus marks the comparison; frais remains masculine singular in this weather expression with il. The base/comparison contrast is frais (“cool”) → plus frais (“cooler”); the opposite adjective is chaud (“hot/warm”), with plus chaud meaning “warmer.” Together, Allons au parc means “Let’s go to the park,” and plus tard places that action later. quand il fera plus frais means “when it’s cooler,” with future fera locating the cooler weather in the later time frame. The complete utterance is: “Let’s visit the park later when it’s cooler.”

8. Ce sera plus sûr et plus confortable.

   That will be safer and more comfortable.

   Ce sera

   that will be

   plus sûr

   safer

   plus confortable

   more comfortable

   More detail

   Ce sera means “that will be.” Ce is a demonstrative pronoun used here as the subject; the fixed translation identifies what is being referred to as “that,” without specifying a more precise referent. Sera is the future form of être (“to be”) for the third-person singular subject: être → sera. For example, Ce sera facile. means “That will be easy.” Plus sûr means “safer.” Sûr is the adjective meaning “safe”; plus places it in the comparative, showing a higher degree than a relevant comparison point. The adjective agrees with the thing described: sûr is the masculine singular form, while sûre is feminine singular. For example, Cette route est plus sûre. means “This road is safer.” Plus confortable means “more comfortable.” Confortable is an adjective meaning “comfortable,” and plus forms its comparative. Unlike many French adjectives, confortable has the same written form for masculine and feminine singular; plural marking can be added when required, as in des sièges confortables (“comfortable seats”). For example, Ce fauteuil est plus confortable. means “This armchair is more comfortable.” Together, Ce sera sets the statement in the future, while plus sûr et plus confortable gives two coordinated comparative descriptions. The complete utterance means: “That will be safer and more comfortable.”