Safe travel on a snowy morning | Learn French in English

Sentence explanations

1. Il a beaucoup neigé pendant la nuit.

   It snowed a lot during the night.

   Il a

   impersonal it + has (auxiliary)

   beaucoup

   a lot

   neigé

   snowed

   pendant

   during

   nuit

   night

   More detail

   Il a begins the French passé composé: a is the present-tense form of avoir used as the auxiliary with neiger, while il is the impersonal subject used for weather. Here il does not identify a person. The reusable pattern is Il a + past participle for a completed weather event, for example: Il a plu. — “It rained.” beaucoup is an adverb meaning “a lot” or “much.” It intensifies the weather event expressed by a neigé; it does not itself indicate when the event happened. A useful contrast is Il a peu neigé. — “It snowed little.” neigé is the past participle of neiger, “to snow.” With the auxiliary avoir, it forms a neigé, the passé composé, which presents the snowfall as a completed event. The impersonal verb neiger normally uses il as its grammatical subject: Il neige. — “It is snowing.” pendant introduces a duration or time span and means “during” here. The pattern pendant + time expression places an event within that period, as in Il a plu pendant deux heures. — “It rained for two hours.” nuit is the noun “night.” In the utterance it appears in the feminine noun phrase la nuit, “the night”; la is the feminine singular definite article agreeing with nuit. The phrase pendant la nuit means “during the night.” Together, Il a neigé means “It snowed,” beaucoup adds the amount “a lot,” and pendant la nuit specifies the time period. The complete utterance therefore means: “It snowed a lot during the night.”

2. Les trottoirs seront peut-être verglacés ce matin.

   The sidewalks may be icy this morning.

   trottoirs

   sidewalks

   seront

   will be

   peut-être

   perhaps; maybe

   verglacés

   icy

   ce matin

   this morning

   More detail

   trottoirs means “sidewalks” here. Its singular base form is trottoir; the final -s marks the plural in this form. Example: Le trottoir est large. — “The sidewalk is wide.” seront is the future form of être (“to be”) for ils/elles or another third-person plural subject: être → ils seront. It expresses a future state, not an action of making something be. Example: Les routes seront ouvertes. — “The roads will be open.” peut-être is an adverb meaning “perhaps” or “maybe.” It adds uncertainty to the statement that follows or to the future situation; it does not itself mark future tense. Example: Il viendra peut-être demain. — “He may come tomorrow.” verglacés is the masculine plural form of the adjective verglacé, meaning “icy” or “covered with ice.” It agrees with the plural masculine noun trottoirs: singular masculine verglacé, plural masculine verglacés; the feminine forms are verglacée and verglacées. Example: Les marches sont verglacées. — “The steps are icy.” ce matin is the time expression “this morning.” ce is the singular masculine demonstrative determiner used with matin; related forms include cette with a singular feminine noun and ces with a plural noun. Example: Je travaille ce matin. — “I am working this morning.” Together, Les trottoirs seront verglacés says that the sidewalks will be icy, while peut-être makes that future state uncertain and ce matin specifies the time. The complete meaning is: “The sidewalks may be icy this morning.”

3. Alors, je devrais mettre des bottes qui accrochent mieux.

   Then I should wear boots with better grip.

   Alors

   Then

   je devrais

   I should

   mettre

   to put on; to wear

   bottes

   boots

   accrochent

   grip; hold

   mieux

   better

   More detail

   Alors means “then” here and links this conclusion to the preceding situation. It can also introduce a transition such as “so” or “well,” but its meaning in this sentence is the sequence or consequence marker “then.” je devrais combines je (“I”) with devrais, the first-person singular conditional form of devoir (“to have to; must”). In this context, the conditional expresses advice or a sensible recommendation: “I should.” Compare je dois (“I must / I have to”), which presents the obligation more directly. The subject is je, so devrais carries first-person singular marking. mettre is the infinitive of “to put” and, with clothing, means “to put on” or “to wear.” After a conjugated form of devoir, the next verb remains in the infinitive: je devrais mettre ... (“I should wear ...”). Example: Je dois mettre un manteau. — “I have to put on a coat.” bottes is the plural of the feminine noun botte, “boot.” The plural is appropriate because the utterance refers to boots as footwear in the plural. Example: Ces bottes sont solides. — “These boots are sturdy.” accrochent is the third-person plural present form of accrocher, whose relevant meaning here is “to grip” or “to hold onto a surface.” In des bottes qui accrochent, qui begins a relative clause, and qui is the subject of accrochent; the boots are the things that grip. The ending -ent marks third-person plural in this verb form and is normally not pronounced. Example: Ces chaussures accrochent bien. — “These shoes grip well.” mieux is the comparative adverb “better.” It compares how well the boots grip, not the boots’ physical size or type. It is the comparative form related to bien (“well”): bien → mieux. For an adjective meaning “better,” French uses meilleur/meilleure, as in une meilleure chaussure (“a better shoe”); that is different from the adverb mieux used with accrochent. The pattern des bottes qui accrochent mieux means “boots that grip better”: qui links the noun bottes to the clause describing what the boots do, and mieux modifies the verb accrochent. Together, je devrais mettre des bottes ... says that the speaker should wear boots with this property. The full utterance is therefore: “Then I should wear boots with better grip.”

4. Tu devrais aussi marcher avec plus de prudence que d'habitude.

   You should also walk more carefully than usual.

   Tu devrais

   you should

   aussi

   also

   marcher

   to walk

   plus

   more

   prudence

   caution

   d'habitude

   as usual

   More detail

   Tu devrais means “you should” here. Tu addresses one person informally, and devrais is the second-person singular conditional present of devoir. In this sentence, devoir expresses advice or what would be advisable, rather than obligation in the stronger sense “must.” The useful pattern is tu devrais + infinitive: Tu devrais dormir. — “You should sleep.” aussi means “also” and adds this recommendation to other information already in the conversation. Its position after devrais is natural here. Example: Je devrais aussi appeler Marie. — “I should also call Marie.” marcher is the infinitive “to walk.” After devrais, French uses an infinitive: Tu devrais marcher — “You should walk.” The infinitive does not show a separate subject agreement here; the person is carried by devrais. plus means “more” in the comparison plus de prudence. With de and a noun, plus de + noun expresses a greater amount or degree: plus de temps — “more time.” In this sentence, plus is not by itself the complete idea “more carefully”; it contributes to the noun phrase plus de prudence. prudence is the noun “caution” or “carefulness.” It is feminine, but the sentence does not need a feminine article because it appears after de in plus de prudence. Avec plus de prudence literally means “with more caution” and naturally corresponds here to “more carefully.” Example: Conduis avec prudence. — “Drive carefully.” d'habitude is the expression “as usual” in this comparison. It contains de with elision before habitude: de habitude becomes d'habitude. The noun habitude means “habit”; the full expression can also mean “usually” in other sentence structures. Here, after que, it provides the comparison point: plus ... que d'habitude — “more ... than usual.” The meaningful structure is Tu devrais aussi (“you should also”) + marcher (“walk”) + avec plus de prudence (“with more caution”) + que d'habitude (“than usual”). Together, these parts give: “You should also walk more carefully than usual.” The sentence recommends an increased degree of caution in walking, compared with the person's usual level.

5. Tu penses que les bus auront du retard ?

   Do you think buses will be delayed?

   Tu

   you

   penses

   think

   bus

   bus

   auront

   will have

   retard

   delay

   More detail

   Tu is the second-person singular subject pronoun: it addresses one person informally. It is the subject of penses, so the sentence asks that person for their opinion. In a formal or plural address, French uses vous instead. penses is the present-tense form of penser for tu: tu penses. With que, penser que introduces a belief or judgment: Je pense que c'est possible. — “I think it is possible.” The spelling with -s belongs to the tu form; the base form is penser. bus is the noun “bus.” Its spelling is the same in singular and plural; here, les before it marks the plural, giving “the buses.” The noun itself does not add a separate plural ending in this form. auront is the third-person plural future form of avoir: ils/elles auront. The subject here is les bus, so the plural future form is used. The future expresses the expected later state: Les trains auront du retard. — “The trains will be delayed.” retard is the masculine noun “delay.” In the useful construction avoir du retard, the literal structure is “to have delay,” while the natural meaning is “to be delayed” or “to run late.” Du is part of this expression; it does not by itself state a numeric quantity. Another common pattern is être en retard, “to be late,” often for a person or appointment. Together, Tu penses que asks for the listener's view, and les bus auront du retard says that the buses are expected to be delayed. The whole utterance therefore means: “Do you think the buses will be delayed?”

6. Probablement, parce que la circulation est lente quand il neige.

   Probably, because traffic moves slowly in snow.

   Probablement

   probably

   parce que

   because

   la circulation

   traffic

   lente

   slow

   quand

   when

   il neige

   it snows

   More detail

   Probablement means “probably” here. It is an adverb, so it comments on the speaker’s degree of certainty about the whole statement rather than describing a noun. A useful contrast is certainement (“certainly”), which expresses stronger confidence. parce que introduces the reason for the statement: “because.” It is a reusable conjunction followed by a complete clause. For example: Je reste parce qu'il pleut. — “I’m staying because it’s raining.” la circulation means “traffic” here, especially the movement or flow of vehicles. Circulation is a feminine noun, which is why the article is la. The noun can refer to traffic conditions generally, not to one specifically counted vehicle. lente means “slow” in this sentence. It is the feminine singular form of the adjective lent, agreeing with the feminine singular noun circulation. The basic comparison is lent/lente (“slow”), plus lent/plus lente (“slower”), and le plus lent/la plus lente (“the slowest”); the adjective, not the noun, carries this comparison. quand means “when” and introduces the situation in which the main statement applies. For example: Je marche quand il fait beau. — “I walk when the weather is nice.” il neige means “it snows” or, in this context, “when it is snowing.” Neige is the present-tense form of neiger (“to snow”) for il. Here il is the impersonal subject used for weather; it does not identify a person or a specific thing. French uses the same pattern with other weather verbs, for example il pleut — “it rains.” Together, la circulation est lente says “traffic is slow,” and quand il neige specifies the condition “when it snows.” The complete utterance therefore means: “Probably, because traffic moves slowly in snow.” Probablement applies to the whole explanation, while parce que links that explanation to the preceding question or statement.

7. Laisse-moi vérifier l'application de transport avant de partir.

   Let me check the transport app before leaving.

   Laisse-moi

   Let me

   vérifier

   check; verify

   l'application

   the app; the application

   transport

   transport

   avant de

   before

   partir

   leave; depart

   More detail

   Laisse-moi is a compact request meaning “let me.” Laisse is the informal singular imperative of laisser (“to let”); moi is the stressed form of “me,” used here after the verb and joined with a hyphen. The pattern Laisse-moi + infinitive is reusable: Laisse-moi réfléchir. — “Let me think.” vérifier is an infinitive meaning “to check” or “to verify.” After Laisse-moi, the next verb stays in the infinitive: Laisse-moi regarder. — “Let me look.” Vérifier focuses on checking something to confirm or obtain information, rather than simply seeing it. l'application means “the app” here. The noun is application, a feminine noun; l' is the elided form of the definite article la before a vowel sound. The same noun can also mean “application” in other contexts, so the transport context gives it the app meaning here. transport is a noun meaning “transport” or “transportation.” In application de transport, de transport specifies the type or purpose of the application: “transport app.” This does not assert a particular kind of transport unless the context supplies one. avant de introduces an action that happens earlier than another action. Before a verb, the reusable pattern is avant de + infinitive: Je vérifie l'adresse avant de partir. — “I check the address before leaving.” partir is an infinitive meaning “to leave” or “to depart.” It refers to going away from the current place or situation; it is not simply the general verb “to go,” which is aller. After avant de, the infinitive form is required: avant de partir — “before leaving.” Together, Laisse-moi vérifier l'application de transport means “Let me check the transport app,” and avant de partir places that checking before the speaker’s departure. The complete utterance is therefore: “Let me check the transport app before leaving.”

8. Cela pourrait te faire gagner du temps.

   That may save you time.

   Cela

   That

   pourrait

   may; could

   te

   you

   faire

   make; cause

   gagner

   save; gain

   temps

   time

   More detail

   Cela is an invariant demonstrative pronoun meaning “that” or “this,” depending on context. Here it means “that” and refers to something already under discussion without naming it again. Unlike a demonstrative adjective, it stands on its own: Cela fonctionne. — “That works.” pourrait is the third-person singular conditional form of pouvoir (“to be able to; can”). Here, the conditional presents the result as a possibility, matching “may” or “could” rather than stating it as definite. Compare Cela peut aider. — “That can help.” and Cela pourrait aider. — “That could help.” te is the informal singular object pronoun for “you.” With faire gagner du temps, it identifies the person who benefits: “make you save time.” Before a vowel sound, the related elided form is t’, as in Cela t’aiderait. — “That would help you.” faire is the infinitive of “to make” or “to cause.” After a conjugated form such as pourrait, French uses an infinitive: pourrait faire means “could make/cause.” In the causative pattern faire + infinitive, the first verb causes the second action, as in Je le fais travailler. — “I make him work.” gagner is the infinitive of gagner (“to gain” or “to win”). In gagner du temps, it has the idiomatic meaning “to save time.” Because it follows faire, faire gagner du temps means “make/cause someone to save time.” Example: Cette option fait gagner du temps. — “This option saves time.” temps is the noun “time” here. In du temps, du is the partitive article used with this mass-noun meaning; the complete expression gagner du temps is the usual French way to say “save time.” Together, Cela pourrait te faire gagner du temps combines “That,” the possibility expressed by pourrait, the beneficiary te, and the causative expression faire gagner du temps. The complete meaning is: “That may save you time.”