About This Lesson
Use Choosing an activity based on the weather to practice French conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.
Dialogue
A
Est-ce qu'on fait quelque chose à l'intérieur ou dehors demain ?
ess-kuh ohn feh kel-kuh SHOHZ ah lan-tay-ree-UR oo duh-OR duh-MAN? Should we do something indoors or outdoors tomorrow?
B
Regardons la météo avant de décider.
ruh-gar-DOHN lah may-tay-OH ah-VAHN duh day-see-DAY. Check the forecast before we decide.
A
La météo dit que le matin sera ensoleillé.
lah may-tay-OH dee kuh luh ma-TAN suh-RAH ahn-soh-lay-YAY. It says the morning will be sunny.
B
Alors, on pourrait faire une promenade avant le déjeuner.
ah-LOR, ohn poo-REH fehr oon proh-muh-NAHD ah-VAHN luh day-zhuh-NAY. Then we could take a walk before lunch.
A
S'il pleut plus tard, on peut aller dans un café.
seel PLUH ploo TAR, ohn puh ah-LAY dahn-ZUN kah-FAY. If it rains later, we can visit a cafe.
B
Comme ça, le plan reste flexible.
kohm SAH, luh plahn REST fleks-SEEBL. That keeps the plan flexible.
A
Prévoyons une promenade le matin.
pray-vwah-YOHN oon proh-muh-NAHD luh ma-TAN. Let's plan on a morning walk.
B
On peut passer à l'intérieur si le temps change.
ohn puh pah-SAY ah lan-tay-ree-UR see luh TAHN SHAHNZH. We can move indoors if the weather changes.Word by Word
Est-ce
In "Est-ce qu'on fait quelque chose", "Est-ce" helps form the question, meaning that the speaker is asking whether something will happen. It is used at the beginning of the common question pattern "Est-ce que".
qu'on
In "Est-ce qu'on fait", "qu'on" means "whether we" and links the question marker to the clause about what we will do. It is the contracted form of "que" and "on"; the same pattern "Est-ce qu'on + verb" can introduce a question about a shared action.
fait
In "qu'on fait quelque chose", "fait" means "does" or "is doing", referring to the activity being considered. It is the form used with "on" in the reusable pattern "on fait + activity".
quelque chose
"Quelque chose" means "something" in "faire quelque chose". The expression is built from "quelque", which makes the thing unspecified, and "chose", meaning "thing"; it is used after a verb when the exact thing is not named.
à
In "à l'intérieur", "à" helps express the location "indoors". The reusable location pattern is "à + place", as in "à l'intérieur".
l'intérieur
In "à l'intérieur", "l'intérieur" refers to the inside or an indoor place. Together with "à", it describes doing something inside rather than outside.
ou
In "à l'intérieur ou dehors", "ou" means "or" and presents two alternatives. It connects alternative places or activities in a choice.
dehors
In "à l'intérieur ou dehors", "dehors" means "outdoors" or outside. It is used to refer to an outdoor location, especially when contrasting it with "à l'intérieur".
demain
In the question, "demain" means "tomorrow" and sets the activity in the following day. It can be placed at the end of a sentence to specify when a planned action will happen.
Regardons
In "Regardons la météo", "Regardons" means "let's check" or "let's look at" and invites the group to inspect something together. This form is used to propose a shared action with a direct object, here "la météo".
la
In "la météo", "la" means "the" and identifies the specific weather forecast being checked. It is placed before the feminine noun "météo" in this noun phrase.
météo
In "Regardons la météo", "météo" refers to the weather forecast, and in "La météo dit", it is the source of the information. It is commonly used with an article, as in "la météo".
avant
In "avant de décider", "avant" means "before" and places the decision after the forecast check in the sequence. The pattern "avant de + infinitive" introduces an action that has not happened yet.
de
In "avant de décider", "de" connects "avant" to the following action "décider". The reusable construction is "avant de + infinitive" for saying that one action happens before another.
décider
In "avant de décider", "décider" means "to decide" about the activity. It appears as an infinitive after "avant de"; this pattern is used when referring to an action in general rather than naming its subject again.
dit
In "La météo dit que", "dit" means "says" or reports information. It introduces the information that follows in "que le matin sera ensoleillé"; its citation form is "dire".
que
In "dit que le matin sera ensoleillé", "que" introduces the information being reported, meaning "that". It commonly follows a verb such as "dit" before a complete clause.
le
In "le matin", "le" means "the" and identifies the morning being discussed. It comes before the noun "matin" in this time expression.
matin
In "le matin sera ensoleillé", "matin" means "morning" and specifies which part of the day will have sunny weather. The pattern "le matin" is used to refer to the morning as a time period.
sera
In "le matin sera ensoleillé", "sera" means "will be" and describes the morning's expected condition. It is the future form of "être" used with "le matin".
ensoleillé
In "sera ensoleillé", "ensoleillé" means "sunny" and describes the expected weather in the morning. It follows "sera" to describe the condition of "le matin".
Alors
At the beginning of "Alors, on pourrait faire une promenade", "Alors" means "then" and signals a decision or suggestion based on the sunny forecast. It is useful for moving from information to a proposed next action.
on
In "on pourrait faire une promenade", "on" means "we" because the speakers are discussing a shared plan. It is used with a singular verb form, as in "on peut" and "on pourrait" in this dialogue.
pourrait
In "on pourrait faire une promenade", "pourrait" means "could" and presents the walk as a possible suggestion rather than a firm decision. It is the conditional form of "pouvoir" and is used with an infinitive, here "faire".
faire
In "faire une promenade", "faire" means "to do" or, in this expression, "to take" a walk. The reusable pattern is "faire + activity", with the activity named after the verb.
une
In "une promenade", "une" means "a" and introduces one unspecified walk. It comes directly before the feminine noun "promenade".
promenade
In "faire une promenade", "promenade" means "walk" or a walking outing. It is used in the common activity expression "faire une promenade".
déjeuner
In "avant le déjeuner", "déjeuner" means "lunch" and identifies the meal before which the walk could happen. With "le", the noun phrase "le déjeuner" refers to that meal as a specific part of the day's plan.
S'il
At the beginning of "S'il pleut plus tard", "S'il" means "if it" and introduces the weather condition. It is the contracted form of "si" and "il", used here before the impersonal weather verb "pleut".
pleut
In "S'il pleut plus tard", "pleut" means "rains" and describes possible later weather. It is the weather-use form of "pleuvoir" after "il" in the conditional pattern "S'il pleut, ...".
plus
In "plus tard", "plus" contributes the meaning of a later point in time, not a greater quantity. Together with "tard", it forms the time expression "plus tard".
tard
In "plus tard", "tard" means "late" and helps specify that the rain may happen later. The expression "plus tard" is used to refer to a later time in a plan or sequence.
peut
In "on peut aller dans un café", "peut" means "can" and expresses that going to a café is possible. It is a form of "pouvoir" followed by the infinitive "aller".
aller
In "aller dans un café", "aller" means "to go" and describes moving to the café as the backup activity. It follows "peut" in the pattern "pouvoir + infinitive".
dans
In "aller dans un café", "dans" means "into" or "in" and identifies the place entered. The pattern "aller dans + place" describes going inside a particular place.
un
In "un café", "un" means "a" and introduces one café without identifying which one. It comes before the masculine noun "café".
café
In "aller dans un café", "café" means "café" or coffee shop, the indoor place chosen if it rains. It appears after "un" in the place phrase "dans un café".
Comme
In "Comme ça", "Comme" contributes to the meaning "that way" and refers to the arrangement just proposed. The expression is used to connect a plan or action with its practical result.
ça
In "Comme ça", "ça" refers to the way the speakers have arranged the plan and helps mean "that way". Together with "Comme", it can point back to a preceding suggestion or decision.
plan
In "le plan reste flexible", "plan" means "plan" and refers to the agreed activity arrangement. It is used after an article, here "le plan", when discussing a specific plan.
reste
In "le plan reste flexible", "reste" means "remains" or "stays", showing that the plan continues to be flexible. Its citation form is "rester", and it is used here with the adjective "flexible".
flexible
In "le plan reste flexible", "flexible" means "flexible", so the plan can adapt to a change in weather. It follows "reste" to describe the continuing quality of the plan.
Prévoyons
In "Prévoyons une promenade le matin", "Prévoyons" means "let's plan" and proposes making the morning walk the current plan. It is a first-person plural imperative form of "prévoir" and is followed here by the planned activity.
passer
In "passer à l'intérieur", "passer" means "to move" or "to switch" to an indoor option. It is used with "à" to show the destination or new option being adopted.
si
In "si le temps change", "si" means "if" and introduces the condition for changing the activity. The reusable pattern is "si + clause" followed by the action that will happen under that condition.
temps
In "si le temps change", "temps" means "weather" and refers to the outdoor conditions. Here it is distinguished by the surrounding condition about changing plans, and it appears in the phrase "le temps".
change
In "si le temps change", "change" means "changes", referring to a change in the weather. It is the present form of "changer" used after "si" in the condition.
Grammar Points
Regardons / Prévoyons : impératif à la 1re personne du pluriel
Regardons la météo.
ruh-gar-DOHN lah may-tay-OH.Let's check the weather forecast.
The ending -ons expresses a suggestion or instruction meaning “let's …” with nous.
avant de + infinitif
avant de décider
ah-VAHN duh day-see-DAYbefore deciding
After avant de, use the infinitive to express an action that happens earlier.
French Vocabulary
à l'intérieur
phrase
ah lan-tay-ree-UR
indoors; inside
Est-ce qu'on fait quelque chose à l'intérieur ou dehors demain ?
Alors
adv
ah-LOR
then
Alors, on pourrait faire une promenade avant le déjeuner.
avant
prep
ah-VAHN
before
Regardons la météo avant de décider.
décider
verb
day-see-DAY
to decide
Regardons la météo avant de décider.
dehors
adv
duh-OR
outdoors; outside
Est-ce qu'on fait quelque chose à l'intérieur ou dehors demain ?
demain
adv
duh-MAN
tomorrow
Est-ce qu'on fait quelque chose à l'intérieur ou dehors demain ?
ensoleillé
adj
ahn-soh-lay-YAY
sunny
La météo dit que le matin sera ensoleillé.
fait
verb
feh
does; are doing
Est-ce qu'on fait quelque chose à l'intérieur ou dehors demain ?
matin
noun
ma-TAN
morning
La météo dit que le matin sera ensoleillé.
météo
noun
may-tay-OH
weather forecast; weather
Regardons la météo avant de décider.
quelque chose
pron
kel-kuh SHOHZ
something
Est-ce qu'on fait quelque chose à l'intérieur ou dehors demain ?
Regardons
verb
ruh-gar-DOHN
let's check; let's look at
Regardons la météo avant de décider.
Quiz
Word Order
Arrange the words in the correct order.
Check the forecast before we decide.
Show Answer
Regardons la météo avant de décider.That keeps the plan flexible.
Show Answer
Comme ça, le plan reste flexible.Let's plan on a morning walk.
Show Answer
Prévoyons une promenade le matin.Spelling
Tap the letters to spell the word.
let's check; let's look at
Show Answer
Regardonsdoes; are doing
Show Answer
faittomorrow
Show Answer
demainweather forecast; weather