Reading medicine instructions | Learn French in English

Sentence explanations

1. J'ai récupéré ce médicament à la pharmacie.

   I picked up this medicine at the pharmacy.

   J'ai récupéré

   I picked up

   ce

   this

   médicament

   medicine

   à la

   at the

   pharmacie

   pharmacy

   More detail

   J'ai récupéré means “I picked up” here. The base verb is récupérer; récupéré is its past participle, used with ai, the first-person singular present form of avoir, to make the passé composé. This form presents the pickup as completed. For example: J'ai récupéré le colis. — “I picked up the parcel.” ce means “this” and agrees with the following noun médicament, which is masculine singular. It is a demonstrative determiner, so it identifies a particular medicine; the form for a feminine singular noun is cette, as in cette ordonnance — “this prescription.” médicament means “medicine” or “medication.” Its plural is médicaments. For example: Ce médicament est efficace. — “This medicine is effective.” à la combines the preposition à with the feminine singular definite article la. In this sentence, it introduces the place where the medicine was picked up: “at the.” The contraction au is used instead with a masculine singular noun, as in au marché — “at the market.” pharmacie means “pharmacy.” It is a feminine noun, which is why the phrase uses la pharmacie. For example: La pharmacie est ouverte. — “The pharmacy is open.” Together, J'ai récupéré gives the completed action, ce médicament identifies the particular medicine, and à la pharmacie gives the location. The whole utterance means: “I picked up this medicine at the pharmacy.”

2. Est-ce que le pharmacien t'a expliqué les instructions ?

   Did the pharmacist explain the instructions?

   Est-ce que

   question marker

   pharmacien

   pharmacist

   expliqué

   explained

   instructions

   instructions

   More detail

   Est-ce que introduces a yes-or-no question in a neutral, widely usable way. It does not itself add a special meaning such as doubt or surprise. A reusable pattern is Est-ce que + statement word order. For example: Est-ce que tu comprends ? — “Do you understand?” pharmacien means “pharmacist” here. Its base noun is pharmacien; the feminine counterpart is pharmacienne. In this sentence, le pharmacien is a definite masculine singular noun phrase, meaning “the pharmacist.” The article le expresses definiteness and masculine singular agreement; it does not by itself state how many pharmacists there are. t'a contains t', the elided form of te, and a, the third-person singular present form of avoir. te is the informal singular “you” object pronoun. The apostrophe appears because te comes before the vowel sound in a. Here it is the direct object of expliqué: the pharmacist explained something to you. expliqué is the past participle of the verb expliquer, “to explain.” With the auxiliary a, it forms the passé composé: a expliqué, “explained” or “has explained.” Because the subject is le pharmacien, the auxiliary is third-person singular. In this sentence the direct object les instructions follows the verb, so the past participle remains expliqué rather than taking an additional written agreement ending. Example: Elle a expliqué la règle. — “She explained the rule.” instructions is the plural of the feminine noun instruction, meaning “instruction” or, in this context, “instructions.” The preceding les makes the phrase definite and plural: les instructions, “the instructions.” Example: Je lis les instructions. — “I am reading the instructions.” Together, Est-ce que turns the clause into a yes-or-no question. le pharmacien is the subject, t' is the person receiving the explanation, and a expliqué les instructions says that the pharmacist explained the instructions. The complete meaning is: “Did the pharmacist explain the instructions?”

3. L'étiquette dit de le prendre après les repas.

   The label says to take it after meals.

   L'étiquette

   the label

   dit de

   says to

   prendre

   take

   après

   after

   repas

   meals

   More detail

   L'étiquette means “the label.” étiquette is a feminine noun meaning “label”; its plural is étiquettes. The l' is the definite article la shortened before the vowel sound at the beginning of étiquette. This article marks a specific label in the sentence; it does not express a quantity. dit de is a reusable reporting pattern: dire de + infinitive means “to say to do something” or “to instruct someone to do something.” Here, dit is the third-person singular present form of dire (“to say”): dire → il/elle dit. The following de introduces the infinitive. Example: Le médecin dit de se reposer. — “The doctor says to rest.” prendre means “to take” here. It is the infinitive of the irregular verb prendre; useful forms include je prends (“I take”), il/elle prend (“he/she takes”), and ils/elles prennent (“they take”). In this sentence, it remains an infinitive because it follows de in dit de prendre. The separate le before it is an object pronoun meaning “it”: de le prendre means “to take it.” après means “after” and introduces a time expression. It can also be used in patterns such as après le travail (“after work”) and après avoir mangé (“after having eaten”). Here it places the taking after the meals. repas means “meal” or “meals.” The form repas is spelled the same in the singular and plural; the determiner shows the number: un repas (“a meal”), des repas (“meals”). In the utterance, les repas means “meals” in a general schedule, while après les repas means “after meals.” Together, L'étiquette dit de le prendre means “The label says to take it,” and après les repas specifies when: “after meals.” The complete utterance is therefore “The label says to take it after meals.”

4. Alors, ne le prends pas avant le petit-déjeuner.

   Then do not take it before breakfast.

   Alors

   then

   ne … pas

   not

   le

   it

   prends

   take

   avant

   before

   petit-déjeuner

   breakfast

   More detail

   Alors means “then” here and links the instruction to what has just been said. It can also mean “so” in other contexts, but “then” fits this sentence. ne ... pas surrounds the conjugated verb to make the instruction negative. In this sentence, it creates “do not take.” In a positive command, French uses the imperative: Prends-le. — “Take it.” With a negative command, the object pronoun moves before the verb: Ne le prends pas. — “Do not take it.” le is a masculine singular direct-object pronoun. It means “it” here, referring to the thing that is to be taken; the supplied sentence does not identify that thing more specifically. Its position before prends is part of the negative-command pattern. In another context, la is the feminine singular counterpart: Ne la prends pas. — “Do not take it.” prends is the second-person singular imperative of prendre, “to take.” The same form is also used for present-tense tu: Tu prends le comprimé. — “You take the tablet.” The infinitive prendre is the useful base form; its command form for tu is prends. avant means “before” and introduces the time reference. It can be followed by a noun phrase, as here, or by an event: avant de partir — “before leaving.” petit-déjeuner is the noun “breakfast.” In the full phrase le petit-déjeuner, the article le marks this masculine singular noun phrase; the selected word itself is the noun, not the article. The compound is written with a hyphen in this sentence. Together, ne le prends pas means “do not take it,” and avant le petit-déjeuner specifies the time that is prohibited. Alors gives the instruction its “then” link, so the complete utterance means: “Then do not take it before breakfast.”

5. Je ne sais pas quelle dose prendre.

   I am not sure about the dose.

   Je ne sais pas

   I’m not sure

   quelle

   which / what

   dose

   dose

   prendre

   to take

   More detail

   Je ne sais pas literally means “I don’t know,” and here it expresses uncertainty: “I’m not sure.” sais is the first-person singular present form of savoir (“to know”): je sais, tu sais, il/elle sait. The negative pattern is ne ... pas; in this sentence it surrounds sais. quelle means “which” or, in this question, “what.” It is the feminine singular form of the interrogative determiner quel, because it describes the feminine singular noun dose. The forms agree with the noun: quel (masculine singular), quelle (feminine singular), quels (masculine plural), quelles (feminine plural). For example, Quelle dose faut-il prendre ? means “What dose should one take?” dose is a feminine noun meaning “dose,” the amount of a medicine or other substance taken at one time. Its plural is doses. The determiner and adjective forms around it must agree with its feminine singular form when needed. prendre means “to take.” It is the infinitive, the base form used after verbs such as savoir in an indirect question: Je sais quelle dose prendre means “I know what dose to take.” Its present forms include je prends, tu prends, and il/elle prend; the infinitive prendre is not the form used for a directly conjugated present-tense statement. Together, quelle dose prendre is an indirect question meaning “what dose to take.” The negative Je ne sais pas says that the speaker does not know the answer, producing the fixed meaning: “I am not sure about the dose.”

6. Appelle la pharmacie si l'étiquette n'est pas claire.

   Call the pharmacy if the label is unclear.

   Appelle

   call

   la pharmacie

   the pharmacy

   si

   if

   l'étiquette

   the label

   n'est pas

   is not

   claire

   clear

   More detail

   Appelle means “call” here. It is the singular informal imperative of appeler (“to call”), addressed to one person using tu; the subject is understood rather than written. Compare Appelez, the formal or plural imperative. Example: Appelle le médecin. — “Call the doctor.” la pharmacie means “the pharmacy.” Pharmacie is a feminine noun, so the definite article is la. The definite article presents the pharmacy as an identifiable entity in this context; it does not itself express a numerical count. si introduces a condition and means “if.” It connects the possible condition to the instruction: “if …, call …”. In French, a present-tense condition can be expressed with si plus the present tense, as in Si tu hésites, demande de l’aide. — “If you hesitate, ask for help.” l'étiquette means “the label.” Étiquette is a feminine noun, but la is elided to l' before the noun’s vowel sound: la étiquette is not used. The apostrophe marks the omitted vowel of the article, while the noun itself still begins with its vowel sound. Example: L'étiquette est visible. — “The label is visible.” n'est pas means “is not” in this sentence. It contains the third-person singular present form est of être (“to be”), with French negation ne … pas; before a vowel, ne is written n'. The negation applies to the adjective that follows. claire means “clear” here, describing the feminine noun étiquette. The adjective agrees with that noun in the feminine singular: masculine singular clair, feminine singular claire. Example: La consigne est claire. — “The instruction is clear.” Together, Appelle la pharmacie gives the instruction “Call the pharmacy,” and si l'étiquette n'est pas claire gives the condition “if the label is unclear.” The complete utterance is therefore: “Call the pharmacy if the label is unclear.”

7. C'est plus sûr que de deviner.

   That is safer than guessing.

   C'est

   that is

   plus sûr

   safer

   que de

   than + infinitive

   deviner

   guessing

   More detail

   C'est is written with the elision of ce before est: ce is a demonstrative pronoun, and est is the third-person singular present form of être. Here, it gives the meaning “that is,” without identifying more specifically what “that” refers to. Example: C'est utile. — “That is useful.” plus sûr means “safer.” Sûr is the adjective meaning “safe” here; its comparative pattern is plus + adjective + que (“more … than”). In this sentence, plus modifies sûr. Example: Cette méthode est plus sûre. — “This method is safer.” Sûre is the feminine singular form agreeing with méthode; sûr is the masculine singular form observed in C'est plus sûr. que de introduces the activity used for comparison: “than + infinitive.” French can use que de before an infinitive when comparing one action with another. Example: Il est plus simple de vérifier. — “It is simpler to check.” Deviner is the infinitive meaning “to guess.” The infinitive presents the action without marking a person or tense. In que de deviner, it refers to guessing as an activity. Example: Il vaut mieux demander que de deviner. — “It is better to ask than to guess.” Together, C'est plus sûr says “That is safer,” and que de deviner specifies the comparison: “than guessing.” The complete utterance means “That is safer than guessing.”

8. Le pharmacien peut te dire la bonne dose avant de le prendre.

   The pharmacist can tell you the correct dose before you take it.

   pharmacien

   pharmacist

   peut

   can

   te

   you

   dire

   tell; say

   bonne

   correct; right

   dose

   dose

   avant de

   before

   le

   it

   prendre

   take

   More detail

   pharmacien means “pharmacist” here. It is a masculine singular noun; the masculine singular definite article is le, giving le pharmacien. A feminine counterpart is pharmacienne. peut is the third-person singular present form of pouvoir (“to be able to,” “can”). The pattern quelqu’un peut + infinitive expresses that someone is able to do something: Elle peut venir. — “She can come.” The infinitive that follows is dire. te is the unstressed object pronoun “you” in the singular informal form. With dire, it represents the person being told something: Je peux te répondre. — “I can answer you.” Its role here is different from the subject of dire: le pharmacien is the one who can tell, and te is the person receiving the information. dire is the infinitive “to tell” or “to say.” After the modal peut, French uses the infinitive: Il peut dire la vérité. — “He can tell the truth.” In this sentence, dire takes the information la bonne dose as its object. bonne is the feminine singular form of bon (“good,” and in this context “correct” or “right”). It agrees with the feminine singular noun dose: un bon conseil — “good advice,” but une bonne réponse — “a correct answer.” The form is chosen because of the noun’s grammatical gender and number, not because bonne itself changes the meaning of dose. dose means “dose.” It is a feminine noun, as shown by la in la bonne dose. The phrase refers here to the correct amount of a medicine to take. avant de introduces “before” followed by an infinitive. The reusable pattern is avant de + infinitive: Lisez l’étiquette avant de commencer. — “Read the label before starting.” le is a masculine singular direct-object pronoun, meaning “it” in the fixed translation. Its grammatical form is masculine singular; the thing it refers to is understood from the intended context rather than named as a noun in this sentence. It is not the feminine article la here, because this occurrence is a pronoun before the infinitive prendre. prendre is the infinitive “to take.” In the fixed utterance, it means taking the relevant item, translated as “take it.” Other forms include je prends (“I take”) and il/elle prend (“he/she takes”); prendre is the form used after avant de. Putting the chunks together, le pharmacien is the person who can help, peut te dire means “can tell you,” and la bonne dose is the information being given. Avant de le prendre adds the time relation “before you take it,” with le as the object of prendre. The whole utterance therefore means: “The pharmacist can tell you the correct dose before you take it.”