Deciding Which Task to Do First | Learn French in English

Sentence explanations

1. J'ai trop de tâches ce matin.

   I have too many tasks this morning.

   J'ai

   I have

   trop

   too much; excessively

   tâches

   tasks

   ce matin

   this morning

   More detail

   J'ai is the contraction of je (“I”) and ai, the first-person singular present form of avoir (“to have”). The apostrophe marks the elision of je before the vowel of ai: je ai becomes j'ai. Other present forms include tu as, il/elle a, and nous avons. Example: J'ai un livre. — “I have a book.” trop expresses an excessive degree or amount. In trop de tâches, the construction means “too many tasks”; with an uncountable noun, trop de can mean “too much,” as in trop de bruit — “too much noise.” The excess is presented from the speaker's perspective. tâches is the plural of the feminine noun tâche, meaning “task.” The forms are une tâche and des tâches; the plural is marked by final -s, which is normally not pronounced. Example: Cette tâche est importante. — “This task is important.” ce matin means “this morning.” ce is the masculine singular demonstrative used with the masculine noun matin; it agrees with that noun rather than identifying a person. Other demonstrative forms include cette with a feminine singular noun and ces with a plural noun. Matin also appears in expressions such as demain matin (“tomorrow morning”). Together, J'ai trop de tâches ce matin means “I have too many tasks this morning.” The reusable pattern is subject + avoir + trop de + noun + time expression: J'ai states what the speaker has, trop de tâches describes an excessive number of tasks, and ce matin specifies when this applies.

2. Classe-les d'abord par priorité.

   List them by priority first.

   Classe

   rank or sort

   les

   them

   d'abord

   first

   par priorité

   by priority

   More detail

   Classe comes from classer, “to sort” or “to rank.” Here it is the affirmative imperative addressed to one person: Classe ! means “Sort!” The imperative gives a direct instruction; it does not state who is doing the sorting as a separate subject. Example: Classe les fichiers. — “Sort the files.” les is the direct-object pronoun meaning “them.” It refers to the items being sorted, while its exact referent is not named in this sentence. In affirmative commands, French places a direct-object pronoun after the verb and joins it with a hyphen: Classe-les. Compare the ordinary non-command order: Tu les classes. — “You sort them.” d'abord means “first” or “at first,” and here it orders the action: do the sorting by priority before other implied steps. It is an adverb, so it does not change for number or gender. Example: Lis d'abord les instructions. — “Read the instructions first.” par priorité means “by priority” or “according to priority.” The preposition par introduces the criterion or method used for arranging the items. priorité is a noun meaning “priority”; the phrase does not itself specify how many priority levels there are. Example: Organisez les demandes par priorité. — “Organize the requests by priority.” Together, Classe-les gives the instruction “sort them,” par priorité specifies the basis for the sorting, and d'abord places this action first. The complete utterance therefore means: “List them by priority first.”

3. Cet e-mail est urgent.

   This email is urgent.

   Cet

   this

   e-mail

   email

   urgent

   urgent

   More detail

   Cet means “this” here and is a demonstrative determiner placed before the noun. It is the masculine singular form used before a masculine singular noun beginning with a vowel sound or silent h; before other masculine singular nouns, ce is used. The feminine singular form is cette, and the plural form is ces. Example: Ce rapport est important. — “This report is important.” e-mail is the noun meaning “email.” In this sentence it is a masculine singular noun, which is why the masculine singular determiner cet is used. The noun can also appear with un or l’, as in un e-mail — “an email” and l’e-mail — “the email.” urgent is the adjective meaning “urgent.” It follows the noun here and agrees with the masculine singular noun e-mail; the masculine singular form is urgent. Its feminine singular form is also urgente, and its plural forms are urgents and urgentes. Example: Cette demande est urgente. — “This request is urgent.” Together, Cet e-mail means “This email,” and est urgent means “is urgent.” The complete utterance is therefore “This email is urgent.”

4. Le rapport est important.

   The report is important.

   rapport

   report

   est

   is

   important

   important

   More detail

   rapport means “report” here. Its plural is rapports; the final s is pronounced in neither form in ordinary speech. Example: Le rapport est long. — “The report is long.” est is the present-tense form of être (“to be”) for il, elle, and on, and also for a singular noun such as le rapport. It does not show the gender of its subject. Example: Le rapport est prêt. — “The report is ready.” important means “important” here and is an adjective describing rapport. It is masculine singular because rapport is masculine singular. The feminine singular form is importante, and the plural forms are importants and importantes, according to gender. Example: La réunion est importante. — “The meeting is important.” Together, Le rapport (“the report”) + est (“is”) + important (“important”) form the reusable French pattern Le/La + noun + est + adjective: “The noun is adjective.” Thus Le rapport est important. means “The report is important.”

5. Quand faut-il rendre le rapport ?

   When is the report deadline?

   Quand

   when

   faut-il

   is it necessary?

   rendre

   to submit

   le rapport

   the report

   More detail

   Quand asks about time: “when?” It can introduce a question about when an event or obligation applies. Example: Quand arrive-t-il ? — “When is he arriving?” faut-il is the inverted question form of the impersonal expression il faut, meaning “is it necessary?” In this sentence, together with the following infinitive, it asks when the report must be submitted. The il here is impersonal, not a person identified by the context. In a question, the subject pronoun follows the verb: faut-il. The expression il faut is followed by an infinitive when it expresses an obligation: Il faut partir. — “One must leave.” rendre is the infinitive meaning “to submit” or “hand in” here. Its meaning is determined by the object le rapport; in other contexts, rendre can have other meanings, such as “to return” or “to make.” After il faut, the verb remains in the infinitive: Il faut rendre le formulaire. — “The form must be submitted.” le rapport means “the report.” rapport is a masculine singular noun, so its definite article is le. In this context, the report is the one already identified in the surrounding text. The adjective in the preceding context, important, also agrees with this masculine singular noun, but it does not determine the form of rapport. Together, Quand asks for the time, while faut-il rendre le rapport asks when it is necessary to submit the report. Thus the utterance means “When is the report deadline?” or more literally, “When must the report be submitted?” The following context supplies “tomorrow afternoon” as the answer, but that time is not stated in this question itself.

6. Il faut le rendre demain après-midi.

   It is due tomorrow afternoon.

   Il faut

   it is necessary; must

   le

   it

   rendre

   return; hand in

   demain

   tomorrow

   après-midi

   afternoon

   More detail

   Il faut is the impersonal expression “it is necessary” or “one must.” It is used with an infinitive to state a requirement without naming a person who must act. In the question from the context, faut-il is the same expression with subject–verb inversion for a question. Compare: Il faut partir. — “We/one must leave.” le is a masculine singular object pronoun meaning “it” here. With the supplied context and translation, it refers to the report mentioned in the preceding question. The pronoun comes before the infinitive: le rendre, literally “to hand it in.” rendre is the infinitive “to return,” and in this context “to hand in” or “to submit.” Its meaning depends on what is being returned or submitted; here it concerns the report. After il faut, French uses the infinitive: Il faut rendre le rapport. — “The report must be handed in.” With an object pronoun, the order is Il faut le rendre. — “It must be handed in.” demain means “tomorrow,” the day after today. It is an invariable adverb, so it does not change for number or gender. Example: Je travaille demain. — “I work tomorrow.” après-midi means “afternoon.” In demain après-midi, it specifies the part of tomorrow: “tomorrow afternoon.” The compound noun can be written with a hyphen; its grammatical gender can vary by usage, but no article is needed in this time expression. Together, Il faut le rendre says that the report must be handed in, and demain après-midi gives the deadline. The complete meaning is: “It is due tomorrow afternoon.”

7. Alors, réponds d'abord à l'e-mail urgent.

   Then answer the urgent email first.

   Alors

   Then / so

   réponds

   answer

   d'abord

   first

   e-mail

   email

   urgent

   urgent

   More detail

   Alors introduces the instruction with the intended meaning “then.” It can also mean “so” in other contexts, but “then” is the fitting meaning here. réponds is the second-person singular imperative of répondre, “to answer.” French uses répondre à for the thing being answered, so the reusable pattern is réponds à ... (“answer ...”). Example: Réponds à la question. — “Answer the question.” The imperative subject pronoun is normally omitted. d'abord is an adverb meaning “first” or “first of all.” Here it orders the answering action before other actions; it does not describe the email. e-mail is a noun meaning “email” in this sentence. The surrounding sequence à l'e-mail contains à plus the elided definite article l'; that article belongs to the noun phrase, while e-mail is the noun itself. Example: Je réponds à l'e-mail. — “I am answering the email.” urgent is an adjective meaning “urgent” here. It describes e-mail and appears in the masculine singular form, agreeing with that noun. Its feminine singular form is urgente, as in une demande urgente — “an urgent request.” Together, réponds à l'e-mail means “answer the email,” urgent specifies which email, and d'abord places this action first. Alors links the instruction as “then,” giving the complete meaning: “Then answer the urgent email first.”

8. Après ça, je travaillerai sur le rapport.

   After that I will work on the report.

   Après ça

   after that

   je

   I

   travaillerai

   will work

   sur

   on

   rapport

   report

   More detail

   Après ça means “after that.” après places one event later than another, and ça is an informal demonstrative pronoun meaning “that” or “it.” Example: Après ça, je rentrerai. — “After that, I’ll go home.” je is the first-person singular subject pronoun, “I.” It is used with a verb when the speaker presents themself as the subject. Before a vowel sound, je commonly contracts to j’, as in j’arrive (“I’m arriving”). travaillerai is the first-person singular future form of travailler, “to work.” The ending -ai here marks the simple future with je: je travaillerai — “I will work.” This is different from the conditional je travaillerais, “I would work.” Example: Demain, je travaillerai à la maison. — “Tomorrow, I will work at home.” sur is a preposition that can mean “on” when it introduces the subject or focus of work. In travailler sur, it identifies what someone is working on. Example: Elle travaille sur un projet. — “She is working on a project.” rapport is a masculine noun meaning “report.” Its plural is rapports. In the fixed utterance, le rapport means “the report”; the definite article identifies a specific report in the situation. Example: Le rapport est prêt. — “The report is ready.” Together, Après ça sets the later time, je travaillerai says that the speaker will work, and sur le rapport identifies the report as the object or focus of that work. The whole utterance therefore means: “After that I will work on the report.”

9. Ça devrait t'aider à te sentir moins stressé.

   That should help you feel less stressed.

   Ça

   That

   devrait

   should

   t'aider

   help you

   te sentir

   feel

   moins

   less

   stressé

   stressed

   More detail

   Ça is a demonstrative pronoun meaning “that” here. It can refer to a situation, action, or thing, but its form does not identify the specific referent by itself. Unlike the common determiner ce in ce livre (“this/that book”), ça can stand on its own as the subject: Ça aide. — “That helps.” devrait is the conditional form of devoir for a third-person singular subject: devoir → il/elle/on doit (present) → il/elle/on devrait (conditional). Here it expresses an expected or likely helpful result, naturally translated “should,” not an order. Example: Il devrait arriver bientôt. — “He should arrive soon.” t'aider combines te and aider: the vowel of te is dropped before aider, producing t'aider. aider means “to help,” and te is the object pronoun meaning “you.” French commonly places this object pronoun before the infinitive: Je veux t'aider. — “I want to help you.” te sentir is the infinitive construction te + sentir, from the reflexive verb se sentir, “to feel.” Here te refers to the person being helped and marks that person as the one who feels. The pattern aider quelqu'un à se sentir... means “help someone feel...” When the same person is addressed directly, se becomes te: Je veux t'aider à te reposer. — “I want to help you rest.” moins is the comparative adverb “less.” It modifies the following description, forming the reusable pattern moins + adjective: moins fatigué — “less tired.” Its opposite in this comparison is plus, “more.” stressé is an adjective meaning “stressed.” The observed form is masculine singular; the adjective agrees with the person it describes, while te itself does not reveal that person’s gender. A feminine singular form is stressée, as in Elle est stressée. — “She is stressed.” Together, Ça devrait presents “that” as an expected cause or means, t'aider à te sentir means “help you feel,” and moins stressé means “less stressed.” The complete utterance is therefore: “That should help you feel less stressed.”