Waiting for your turn | Learn French in English

Sentence explanations

1. J'attends encore mon tour.

   I am still waiting for my turn.

   attends

   wait for

   encore

   still

   tour

   turn

   More detail

   attends is the first-person singular present form of attendre, “to wait” or “to wait for.” In this sentence, J'attends means “I am waiting”; the present tense presents the waiting as ongoing now. The apostrophe in J'attends is the shortened form of je before a vowel. encore means “still” here. It shows that the waiting continues, rather than starting a new waiting event. Its position between the verb and the noun phrase gives the sentence the pattern subject + verb + encore + object. tour is a masculine noun meaning “turn” in the expression mon tour, “my turn.” The possessive mon agrees with the masculine singular noun tour; it reflects the noun’s grammatical form, not the speaker’s gender. Compare mon tour (“my turn”) with ton tour (“your turn”). Together, J'attends encore mon tour means “I am still waiting for my turn.” The subject is the speaker, the ongoing action is waiting, encore marks its continuation, and mon tour identifies what the speaker is waiting for. This is a natural way to say that the speaker has not yet reached their turn.

2. Ils mettent beaucoup de temps à appeler chaque personne aujourd'hui.

   They are taking a long time to call each person today.

   mettent

   take (time)

   beaucoup de temps

   a long time

   appeler

   to call

   chaque

   each

   personne

   person

   aujourd'hui

   today

   More detail

   mettent is the present-tense third-person plural form of mettre (“to put” in many uses). In this sentence, mettre du temps à + infinitive means “to take time to do something”; the plural form agrees with the subject ils. Example: Ils mettent du temps à répondre. — “They take a long time to answer.” beaucoup de temps means “a lot of time.” After a quantity expression such as beaucoup de, French uses de before the noun: beaucoup de temps, not a singular article. Combined with the preceding verb, mettent beaucoup de temps à... means “take a long time to...”. appeler is the infinitive of appeler, “to call.” Here it follows à in the pattern mettre du temps à + infinitive. The infinitive names the activity that takes time. Example: Elle met du temps à appeler. — “She takes time to call.” chaque means “each” or “every” when it distributes attention over members individually. It is used with a singular noun: chaque personne. It does not itself state a numeric count. Example: Chaque client reçoit une réponse. — “Each customer receives an answer.” personne is the noun “person.” In chaque personne, it is singular because chaque selects one member at a time. The word can have other functions in French, but here it is an ordinary noun, not a negation word or an indefinite pronoun. aujourd'hui means “today.” It is an adverb of time and places the calling activity on the current day. The apostrophe is part of the fixed spelling. Together, ils mettent beaucoup de temps à appeler chaque personne says that they are taking a long time to call each person, while aujourd'hui specifies that this is happening today. The fixed utterance therefore means: “They are taking a long time to call each person today.”

3. Alors, je devrais rester pas loin.

   So I should stay nearby.

   Alors

   So

   je devrais

   I should

   rester

   to stay

   pas loin

   nearby

   More detail

   Alors is a connective meaning “so” here. It links this utterance to a conclusion or next step. It can also mean “then” in other contexts, but “so” is the intended sense here. je devrais means “I should.” The verb is devoir (“to have to” or “must”); devrais is its first-person singular present conditional form, used here for an expected or advisable action rather than a firm order. Compare je dois (“I must / I have to”), which is more direct. Example: Je devrais partir. — “I should leave.” rester is the infinitive “to stay” or “to remain.” After a conjugated form of devoir, the following verb normally stays in the infinitive: je devrais rester — “I should stay.” Example: Elle doit rester ici. — “She has to stay here.” pas loin is an adverbial phrase meaning “nearby” or literally “not far.” loin means “far”; adding pas creates the negative expression “not far.” Example: La gare est pas loin. — “The station is nearby.” Together, Alors + je devrais rester + pas loin gives: “So I should stay nearby.” The speaker presents staying nearby as the appropriate conclusion or next action. The wording is conversational and neutral.

4. Ils peuvent vous appeler bientôt.

   They may call you soon.

   Ils peuvent

   They may

   vous

   you

   appeler

   call

   bientôt

   soon

   More detail

   Ils peuvent combines ils (“they”) with peuvent, the present-tense third-person plural form of pouvoir (“to be able to; may/can”). Here peuvent is followed by an infinitive, so the construction ils peuvent + infinitive expresses that they may or can do something. The plural form is required by ils; compare il peut (“he/it may/can”) and ils peuvent (“they may/can”). Example: Ils peuvent venir. — “They may come.” vous is the object pronoun meaning “you” here. French uses vous for one person addressed formally or for more than one person; the fixed translation identifies the intended addressee as “you” but does not determine which of those grammatical uses applies. As an object pronoun, it comes before the infinitive in this construction: Ils peuvent vous appeler. appeler is the infinitive “to call.” After a form of pouvoir, the following action is expressed with an infinitive: peuvent appeler means “may/can call.” Its base form is appeler; the spelling has a doubled p, not a doubled l. Example: Vous pouvez appeler demain. — “You can call tomorrow.” bientôt is an adverb meaning “soon.” It adds the expected near time of the calling and can also be used elsewhere in a sentence, for example: Je reviendrai bientôt. — “I will come back soon.” Together, Ils peuvent + vous + appeler + bientôt gives Ils peuvent vous appeler bientôt.: “They may call you soon.”

5. Quel guichet dois-je regarder ?

   Which counter should I watch?

   Quel

   which

   guichet

   counter

   dois-je

   should I

   regarder

   watch

   More detail

   Quel means “which” here and agrees with the masculine singular noun guichet: quel + masculine singular noun, quelle + feminine singular noun, quels + masculine plural noun, and quelles + feminine plural noun. Example: Quelle porte ? — “Which door?” guichet is a masculine noun meaning a counter or service window, such as one at a station or public office. Its plural is guichets. Example: Le guichet est ouvert. — “The counter is open.” dois-je is the question form of devoir (“must” or “should”) with the first-person singular subject je. In this inverted form, the verb comes before the subject pronoun: Dois-je attendre ? — “Should I wait?” Here, the fixed translation supports the advice-seeking meaning “should I,” rather than a firm claim that the speaker must do it. regarder is the infinitive “to look at” or “to watch.” After the conjugated form dois, the following verb remains in the infinitive: Je dois regarder — “I should watch/look at.” In this sentence, regarder refers to watching the appropriate counter; the nearby context indicates that a screen will show which counter is right. Together, Quel guichet asks which counter, and dois-je regarder asks what the speaker should watch. The inversion makes the sentence a question: “Which counter should I watch?”

6. L'écran indiquera le bon guichet.

   The screen will show the right counter.

   écran

   screen

   indiquera

   will show

   bon

   right; correct

   guichet

   counter

   More detail

   écran means “screen” here. Its base form is écran, a masculine noun. In L'écran, le becomes l' before the vowel sound at the start of écran; this spelling change belongs to the article, not to the noun. Example: L'écran est allumé. — “The screen is on.” indiquera is the future form of indiquer for a third-person singular subject: il/elle/on indiquera. The ending shows that the indicating will happen in the future; the subject here is L'écran. The verb indiquer can mean “to indicate,” “to show,” or “to point out,” and the fixed translation supports “will show” here. Example: Le panneau indiquera la sortie. — “The sign will show the exit.” bon describes guichet and is masculine singular to agree with it. Its base form is bon; feminine singular is bonne, as in une bonne réponse (“a correct answer”). In this sentence, bon means the correct or appropriate counter, not necessarily a counter that is morally “good.” Example: C'est le bon numéro. — “That is the right number.” guichet means “counter,” specifically a service or ticket counter in this context. It is a masculine noun, so the phrase uses le: le guichet. Example: Je cherche le guichet des billets. — “I am looking for the ticket counter.” Together, L'écran is the subject, indiquera places the showing in the future, and le bon guichet is the thing shown: “the correct counter.” The complete utterance is therefore: “The screen will show the right counter.”

7. Alors, je vais garder le ticket dans ma main.

   Then I'll keep the ticket in my hand.

   Alors

   Then

   je vais

   I am going to

   garder

   keep

   ticket

   ticket

   dans

   in

   main

   hand

   More detail

   Alors means “then” here and links this utterance to what was just mentioned. It can also mean “so” in other contexts, but “then” fits this sentence. je vais is the first-person singular present form of aller, “to go,” used with an infinitive to form the near future: je vais + infinitive = “I am going to …” The following infinitive is garder, so je vais garder means “I’m going to keep.” Example: Je vais attendre. — “I’m going to wait.” garder means “to keep” here: the speaker intends to retain or hold onto the ticket. It is an infinitive because aller carries the person and tense in the near-future construction. Example: Nous allons garder ce reçu. — “We are going to keep this receipt.” le ticket refers to “the ticket.” ticket is a masculine noun, shown here by the masculine singular article le. The article marks a specific ticket in this context; it does not itself express a numerical quantity. Example: Je prends le ticket. — “I’m taking the ticket.” dans means “in” and introduces the location or container in which something is placed or kept. Example: Le billet est dans le sac. — “The ticket is in the bag.” ma main means “my hand.” main is a feminine singular noun, so the possessive form is ma (“my” with a feminine singular noun). The possessive agrees with the noun possessed, not with the possessor. Example: Ma main est froide. — “My hand is cold.” Taken together, Alors sets the connection as “Then,” je vais garder expresses the speaker’s near-future intention, and le ticket dans ma main specifies what will be kept and where: “Then I’ll keep the ticket in my hand.”

8. C'est plus facile quand votre tour arrive.

   That makes it easier when your turn comes.

   C'est

   it is / that is

   plus facile

   easier

   quand

   when

   votre

   your

   tour

   turn

   arrive

   comes / arrives

   More detail

   C'est is the contraction of ce and est (être, “to be”). Here it presents the situation as “that/it is”; the exact thing referred to is understood from the situation rather than named in this sentence. Ce sont is used with a plural noun: Ce sont de bonnes nouvelles means “Those are good news.” plus facile means “easier.” Facile is the base adjective, and plus facile is its comparative form: plus + adjective. The adjective agrees with the noun or pronoun it describes, but facile has the same spoken form for masculine and feminine singular; plural writing adds s: plus faciles. Example: Cette méthode est plus facile. — “This method is easier.” Quand introduces the time condition “when.” It links the main statement to the event that determines when it applies. Example: Je partirai quand tu arriveras. — “I will leave when you arrive.” Votre is the possessive determiner “your” before a singular noun. It is used with a singular noun regardless of whether the owner is one person addressed formally or several people; it does not itself state how many people own the thing. Before a plural noun, French uses vos: votre billet means “your ticket,” while vos billets means “your tickets.” Tour is a masculine noun meaning “turn” in this context: an opportunity to act in an order. The fixed translation identifies it as the listener’s turn. The same noun can have other meanings in other contexts, but this sentence uses the “turn” sense. Example: C'est mon tour. — “It’s my turn.” Arrive is the third-person singular present form of arriver, “to arrive” or “to come.” Its subject here is votre tour, so the form agrees with that singular noun: votre tour arrive, literally “your turn arrives.” With a plural subject, the form is arrivent: Les invités arrivent means “The guests are arriving.” Together, C'est plus facile says “That makes it easier,” and quand votre tour arrive specifies the time: “when your turn comes.” The complete utterance therefore means “That makes it easier when your turn comes.”