Choosing an Online Language Course | Learn French in English

Sentence explanations

1. Je veux choisir un cours de langue en ligne.

   I want to choose an online language course.

   Je veux

   I want

   choisir

   to choose

   cours

   course

   langue

   language

   en ligne

   online

   More detail

   Je veux means “I want” here. veux is the first-person singular present form of vouloir (“to want”): je veux, tu veux, il/elle veut. After a form of vouloir, the next verb normally stays in the infinitive. choisir means “to choose.” It is already the infinitive, so it names the action without marking a separate subject or tense. The reusable pattern is Je veux + infinitive: Je veux apprendre. — “I want to learn.” cours means “course” here. It is a masculine noun; its plural is also written cours, with the number shown by a determiner or context: un cours — “a course,” des cours — “courses.” langue means “language.” It is a feminine noun: une langue. In cours de langue, de links the course to its subject, giving “language course.” en ligne means “online.” This is a fixed expression used for something provided or done through the internet: un cours en ligne — “an online course.” Together, Je veux choisir un cours de langue en ligne means “I want to choose an online language course.” The subject is Je, veux expresses the desire, choisir is the desired action, and the remaining noun phrase identifies what is to be chosen.

2. Compare les horaires, les avis et la méthode d'enseignement.

   Compare the schedule, reviews, and teaching style.

   Compare

   compare

   les horaires

   the schedules

   les avis

   the reviews

   la méthode d'enseignement

   the teaching method

   More detail

   Compare is the imperative of comparer (“to compare”), addressed to one person informally. The subject tu is normally omitted in this command. Example: Compare les deux options. — “Compare the two options.” The same spelling also occurs in il/elle compare (“he/she compares”), but the command reading here comes from the sentence structure and the absent subject. les horaires means “the schedules” or “timetables.” horaires is the plural of horaire; the plural article les agrees with it. In this context, it refers to the course schedules, while English may naturally use singular “the schedule” for the same general criterion. Example: Les horaires du cours sont pratiques. — “The course schedules are convenient.” les avis means “the reviews” here. avis has the same written form in the singular and plural; the plural is shown by les. Depending on context, un avis can mean a review, opinion, or notice, but “reviews” is the intended meaning here. Example: Je lis les avis avant de choisir. — “I read the reviews before choosing.” la méthode d'enseignement means “the teaching method” or “teaching style.” méthode is a feminine noun, so it takes la; enseignement is the noun meaning “teaching.” In d'enseignement, de becomes d' before the vowel sound at the beginning of enseignement. The phrase is a noun phrase: méthode de + enseignement identifies the method used for teaching. Example: Cette méthode d'enseignement est claire. — “This teaching method is clear.” Together, the imperative Compare asks the listener to evaluate three criteria: les horaires, les avis, and la méthode d'enseignement. The repeated articles mark the three coordinated objects of comparer, producing the meaning “Compare the schedule, reviews, and teaching style.”

3. Ce cours est plus court, mais il a moins de leçons.

   This course is shorter but has fewer lessons.

   Ce

   this

   cours

   course

   plus court

   shorter

   il

   it

   a

   has

   moins de

   fewer

   leçons

   lessons

   More detail

   Ce means “this” here and is the masculine singular demonstrative determiner before cours. The choice reflects the noun’s grammatical gender and number, not a numeric count. Compare ce cours with cette leçon (“this lesson”) and ces cours (“these courses”): the determiner changes with the noun phrase. cours means “course” here. It is a masculine noun; its singular and plural forms are both spelled cours, so the determiner or another context marker can show the number. For example, un cours means “a course,” while des cours means “courses.” plus court means “shorter.” court is the adjective meaning “short,” and plus court forms the comparative with plus (“more”). The adjective agrees with the noun it describes: ce cours est plus court uses masculine singular agreement. For example, Cette leçon est plus courte means “This lesson is shorter,” with courte agreeing with the feminine noun leçon. il is a masculine singular subject pronoun. In this sentence, it refers to the course already introduced, as reflected by “it” in the translation. French uses il for a masculine singular referent; a feminine singular referent would use elle. a is the third-person singular present form of avoir, “to have.” The pattern il a means “it has” when the subject is a masculine singular thing. Other useful present forms include j’ai (“I have”) and ils ont (“they have”). moins de means “fewer” before the plural count noun leçons. The quantity expression is moins de + noun, and de remains de rather than changing to match the noun. For example, moins de cours means “fewer courses.” leçons means “lessons.” It is the plural of the feminine noun leçon; the plural is marked in writing by -s, although that final letter is normally not pronounced. The singular is leçon, “lesson.” Together, Ce cours est plus court says that this course is shorter, while mais (“but”) links a contrast. il a moins de leçons says that the same course has fewer lessons. The complete meaning is: “This course is shorter but has fewer lessons.”

4. L'autre semble plus adapté aux débutants.

   The other one looks more beginner-friendly.

   L'autre

   the other one

   semble

   seems; looks

   plus adapté

   more suitable; more appropriate

   débutants

   beginners

   More detail

   L'autre means “the other one” here: it identifies an alternative item in the comparison, without repeating the noun. French uses l' before a vowel sound, and autre is the form meaning “other.” The same pattern is reusable: l'un ... l'autre means “one ... the other,” while un autre means “another” or “a different one.” Example: Je prends l'autre. — “I’ll take the other one.” semble comes from sembler, “to seem” or “to appear.” The observed form is the present tense, third-person singular form, agreeing with L'autre: il/elle semble. It presents the description as an appearance or impression rather than a direct statement of identity. Example: Ce choix semble simple. — “This choice seems simple.” plus adapté expresses a comparison: plus means “more,” and adapté is the masculine singular form of the adjective adapté, “suitable” or “well suited.” The adjective’s base form is adapté; its feminine singular form is adaptée, and plural forms are adaptés or adaptées according to grammatical gender. In this sentence, plus adapté means “more suitable,” specifically more suitable for the stated group. Example: Cette méthode est plus adaptée aux enfants. — “This method is better suited to children.” débutants is the plural noun “beginners.” Its singular is débutant (“a beginner”); the ending -s marks the written plural here. The preceding aux is the contraction of à and les, so adapté aux débutants means “suitable for beginners.” Example: Le guide est destiné aux débutants. — “The guide is intended for beginners.” Together, L'autre semble plus adapté aux débutants says that the alternative item appears better suited to beginners: “The other one looks more beginner-friendly.”

5. Je peux seulement étudier le week-end.

   I can only study on weekends.

   Je peux

   I can

   seulement

   only

   étudier

   study

   week-end

   weekend

   More detail

   Je peux means “I can” here: peux is the first-person singular present form of pouvoir (“to be able to; can”). Pouvoir is followed by an infinitive: Je peux étudier = “I can study.” Compare je peux with tu peux (“you can”) and il/elle peut (“he/she can”); the spelling changes with the subject. seulement means “only” and limits what follows in this sentence: the speaker can study, but only at the stated time. Its position before the infinitive is common: Je peux seulement travailler = “I can only work.” The exact scope can depend on placement, so Je peux étudier seulement le week-end also makes the time limitation especially explicit. étudier is the infinitive “to study.” After pouvoir, it stays in the infinitive rather than being conjugated: Je peux étudier, not a second first-person present form. The same pattern works with other verbs, for example Je peux lire = “I can read.” week-end is the noun “weekend.” In the utterance it appears in the fixed time expression le week-end, meaning “on weekends” or “at the weekend” in this context. Le is the masculine singular definite article used with this expression; it does not by itself assert one single weekend. The hyphenated spelling week-end is part of the observed French form. Together, Je peux seulement étudier le week-end means “I can only study on weekends”: Je peux expresses ability or availability, seulement restricts it, étudier names the activity, and le week-end gives the time when it is possible.

6. Alors, choisis le cours qui propose des cours le week-end.

   Then choose the course with weekend classes.

   Alors

   Then

   choisis

   choose

   cours

   course; class

   propose

   offers

   le week-end

   on weekends

   More detail

   Alors means “then” here and links this instruction to the preceding situation. It is also commonly used as a conversational transition, but here it mainly introduces the next step. choisis is the second-person singular imperative of choisir (“to choose”). The imperative addresses one person and normally omits the subject pronoun: Choisis un cours. — “Choose a course.” The present-tense form with tu is also tu choisis; the imperative is recognized here by its directive use and the absence of tu. The first cours occurs in le cours. The noun cours can mean a course or class depending on context; here the fixed translation supports “course,” meaning the option being selected. It is masculine singular after le. The same noun can be plural with des: des cours means “classes” or “courses,” without stating an exact number. French keeps the spelling cours in both singular and plural, while the article shows the number here. qui propose begins a relative clause describing le cours. qui is the relative subject, so it refers to the course that is being selected. propose is the third-person singular present form of proposer (“to offer” or “propose”); its subject is qui, referring back to le cours. For example, Le centre propose des cours. — “The center offers classes.” The second cours, in des cours, has the same noun form but a different meaning in this sentence: “classes.” des marks an indefinite plural, so this says that the course offers classes, without specifying how many. le week-end is a time expression meaning “on the weekend” or, in this context, “on weekends.” week-end is a masculine noun, hence le. It identifies when the classes take place; it does not itself state a particular number of classes. Taken together, Alors, choisis gives the instruction “Then choose.” le cours qui propose des cours le week-end means “the course that offers classes on weekends”: qui propose... specifies which course to choose, and le week-end specifies the schedule. The whole utterance is therefore: “Then choose the course with weekend classes.”

7. Les avis disent que le professeur explique clairement.

   The reviews say the teacher explains clearly.

   avis

   reviews; opinions

   disent

   say

   professeur

   teacher

   explique

   explains

   clairement

   clearly

   More detail

   avis means an opinion or review here. Its singular form is avis as well, so the article shows the number: un avis / des avis; les avis means “the reviews” or “the opinions.” disent is the present-tense third-person plural form of dire, “to say.” The form matches the plural subject les avis. Compare il dit (“he says”) with ils disent (“they say”). le professeur means “the teacher.” professeur is a masculine noun in this phrase, and le is the corresponding singular definite article. A feminine noun may instead take la, but noun gender must be learned with the noun rather than inferred from the English meaning. que introduces the content of what is said: dire que ... means “to say that ...”. It links disent to the clause that follows. explique is the present-tense third-person singular form of expliquer, “to explain.” The subject is le professeur, so French uses the singular form: j’explique, il/elle explique, ils/elles expliquent. Here it describes what the teacher explains, without stating what the explanation concerns. clairement means “clearly.” It is an adverb formed from the adjective clair and describes how the explaining is done. Compare Il explique clairement (“He explains clearly”) with Il explique lentement (“He explains slowly”). Together, Les avis disent que sets up the statement reported by the reviews, and le professeur explique clairement gives that statement. The complete utterance means: “The reviews say the teacher explains clearly.”

8. Cela compte plus qu'un cours plus court.

   That matters more than a shorter course.

   Cela

   That

   compte

   matters

   plus qu'un

   more than a

   cours

   course

   plus court

   shorter

   More detail

   Cela is a demonstrative pronoun meaning “that” here. It points to an already identifiable matter or situation; the sentence itself does not specify exactly what it is. Unlike a demonstrative adjective, it stands on its own rather than directly modifying a noun. compte is the present-tense third-person singular form of compter, “to count” or, as here, “to matter.” The form agrees with the singular pronoun cela. In this meaning, compter expresses importance: Cela compte. means “That matters.” plus qu'un introduces a comparison: “more than a.” Here plus marks the greater degree, and que introduces the comparison. qu'un is the written combination of que and the indefinite article un; un identifies the following noun as masculine singular, but does not by itself state a numerical quantity. The compared item is completed by the following noun and adjective. cours is the masculine singular noun “course.” Its spelling is also used for the plural, so the article helps show the singular reading here: un cours means “a course.” Do not confuse this noun with the verb form cours in expressions such as tu cours, from courir. plus court means “shorter.” court is the adjective “short,” and plus court is its comparative form, literally “more short” in structure. The adjective is masculine singular to agree with cours: un cours court is “a short course,” while une leçon courte uses the feminine form courte. The comparison is made with another course understood from the context; it does not assert that the course is short in an absolute sense. Together, cela compte says “that matters,” and plus que sets up a comparison. The comparison is completed by un cours plus court, “a shorter course.” Thus the whole utterance means: “That matters more than a shorter course.”