Cleaning up a common room | Learn French in English

Sentence explanations

1. On a utilisé la salle commune pendant un moment.

   We used the common room for a while.

   On

   we

   a utilisé

   used

   salle

   room

   commune

   common

   pendant un moment

   for a while

   More detail

   On means “we” here, as confirmed by the fixed translation. In everyday French, on commonly replaces nous for a group that includes the speaker. It takes a third-person singular verb: on a, not *on ont*. The form can have other uses in other contexts, but this sentence uses the inclusive “we” reading. a utilisé is the passé composé of utiliser: a is the third-person singular present form of avoir, and utilisé is the past participle. The pattern on a utilisé means “we used.” With avoir, the past participle normally does not change to agree with the subject. Example: On a utilisé le téléphone. — “We used the phone.” salle means “room” here. It is a feminine noun: une salle, la salle. The noun can refer to a room or a designated space, depending on context. commune describes salle and means “common” here, in the sense of shared by the relevant people. It is the feminine singular form agreeing with the feminine singular noun salle; the masculine singular form is commun. Example: une cuisine commune — “a shared kitchen.” pendant un moment expresses duration: “for a while.” pendant introduces the time span, and un moment means “a while” in this expression. Example: Nous avons attendu pendant un moment. — “We waited for a while.” Together, On a utilisé gives “we used,” la salle commune gives “the common room,” and pendant un moment gives “for a while.” The complete meaning is: “We used the common room for a while.”

2. Nettoyons-la avant de partir.

   Let's clean it up before we head out.

   Nettoyons

   let’s clean

   la

   it

   avant de

   before

   partir

   leave

   More detail

   Nettoyons is the first-person plural imperative of nettoyer (“to clean”): nettoyons means “let’s clean.” The form proposes an action for the speaker and at least one other person, with the subject nous understood rather than stated. Compare Nettoie ! (“Clean!” to one person) and Nettoyons ! (“Let’s clean!”). la is a feminine singular direct-object pronoun. Here it means “it,” referring to the thing to be cleaned; in the supplied context, that is understood as the previously mentioned common room. French object pronouns agree with the object’s grammatical gender and number: le is masculine singular, la feminine singular, and les plural. In this affirmative imperative, la follows the verb and is joined to it with a hyphen, as in Nettoyons-la. avant de introduces an action that happens later than the action in the main clause: “before doing …” It is followed by an infinitive, not a conjugated verb. The reusable pattern is avant de + infinitive, as in avant de manger (“before eating”). partir is the infinitive meaning “to leave” or “to depart.” In avant de partir, the understood subject is normally the same as the subject of the main action, so the meaning here is “before we leave.” Its present-tense forms include je pars, tu pars, il/elle part, and nous partons; partir itself is the unconjugated form required after avant de. Together, Nettoyons-la means “let’s clean it,” with la following the imperative verb in the affirmative command. avant de partir adds the time condition “before we leave.” The complete utterance therefore means: “Let’s clean it up before we head out.”

3. Je remettrai les chaises à leur place.

   I'll put the chairs back where they were.

   remettrai

   will put back

   chaises

   chairs

   leur

   their

   place

   place

   More detail

   remettrai is the first-person singular future form of remettre, meaning “to put back” here. The future ending -ai shows that the speaker will do this later: je remettrai = “I will put back.” In other contexts, remettre can also mean “to hand back” or “to postpone,” so the surrounding object and expression determine the meaning. chaises means “chairs.” Its singular base form is chaise; the final -s marks the plural: une chaise / des chaises. The word les before it makes the noun phrase definite: “the chairs.” leur in à leur place means “their.” Here, the chairs are the things being returned, as indicated by the fixed translation. French leur is used with a plural possessor and stays leur before a singular possessed noun; compare leur place (“their place”) with leurs places (“their places”). place means “place” or “spot.” Its base form is already singular; the plural is places. In à leur place, it means the place where the chairs were, rather than a more specifically identified location. The pattern à leur place means “in their place.” With remettre, it identifies the destination and combines with the verb’s “put back” meaning to give “back where they were.” For example, Remets le livre à sa place. means “Put the book back in its place.” Together, Je remettrai (“I will put back”) + les chaises (“the chairs”) + à leur place (“in their place”) gives: “I’ll put the chairs back where they were.” The future form presents this as a later action, and the final expression identifies where the chairs will be put.

4. Je vais enlever les déchets des tables.

   I'll clear the trash from the tables.

   Je vais

   I am going to

   enlever

   remove; take away

   déchets

   trash; waste

   tables

   tables

   More detail

   Je vais combines je (“I”) with the first-person singular present form vais of aller (“to go”). Before an infinitive, this construction commonly expresses the near future: aller + infinitive means “to be going to do something.” Here, vais does not mean physical movement; it marks the upcoming action. Compare Je vais partir — “I’m going to leave.” enlever is an infinitive meaning “to remove” or “to take away.” The infinitive is used after vais in the near-future pattern. Its present-tense forms include j’enlève (“I remove / I am removing”) and nous enlevons (“we remove / we are removing”); the verb stem and spelling change in some forms, so enlever should not be treated as the present form for every subject. Example: Nous enlevons les cartons. — “We remove the boxes.” déchets is the plural of the noun déchet, meaning “waste” or “trash.” The plural marker is carried by the noun spelling and by the article in the full phrase les déchets. French uses les for a definite plural noun, so this refers to the trash as the relevant waste in the situation rather than asserting a numerical count. tables is the plural of table, meaning “table.” In the full phrase des tables, des is the contraction of de + les; here it expresses the source or location from which the trash is removed: “from the tables.” The plural is shown by the final -s, which is normally not pronounced in this noun. Example: Les livres sont sur les tables. — “The books are on the tables.” The sentence builds as Je vais + enlever + les déchets + des tables: “I am going to” + “remove” + “the trash” + “from the tables.” Together, Je vais enlever les déchets des tables. means “I’ll clear the trash from the tables.”

5. On éteint aussi les lumières ?

   Should we turn off the lights too?

   On

   we

   éteint

   turns off

   aussi

   too; also

   les lumières

   the lights

   More detail

   On is a subject pronoun. Here it means “we” in the suggested-action question, as confirmed by “Should we” in the translation. The verb that follows on uses the third-person singular form. éteint comes from éteindre, “to turn off” or “to extinguish.” In this sentence it is the present-tense form used with on: on éteint. The spelling is not the same as the infinitive. For example, J'éteins la lumière means “I turn off the light”; éteins is the first-person singular present form, whereas éteint is used here with on. aussi means “too” or “also.” It adds this action to something already relevant in the conversation. Here it contributes the meaning “too”; its position after the verb is a common placement, but the question meaning comes from the utterance's intonation and question punctuation rather than from aussi alone. les lumières means “the lights.” Les is the plural definite article, and lumières is the plural noun corresponding to lumière, “light.” The plural is visible in the noun's final -s, though that letter is not normally pronounced in this form. A singular example is la lumière — “the light.” Together, On éteint presents the action with on as the subject, aussi adds it to an existing set of actions, and les lumières identifies what is turned off. The French word order, together with question intonation and punctuation, produces the meaning “Should we turn off the lights too?”

6. Éteins les lumières.

   Turn off the lights.

   Éteins

   turn off

   lumières

   lights

   More detail

   Éteins is the informal singular imperative of éteindre, “to turn off” here. The form addresses one person as tu; the imperative gives a direct instruction. Compare the present form tu éteins (“you turn off/are turning off”) with the imperative éteins (“turn off!”). Example: Éteins la lampe. — “Turn off the lamp.” lumières is the plural of the feminine noun lumière, “light.” The plural ending -s shows that more than one light is meant. Here it is preceded by les, the definite plural article, giving “the lights,” rather than an unspecified set. Example: Les lumières sont allumées. — “The lights are on.” Together, Éteins les lumières. means “Turn off the lights.” The imperative Éteins supplies the instruction, and les lumières identifies what should be turned off.

7. Ferme les fenêtres avant de fermer la salle à clé.

   Close the windows before we lock up.

   Ferme

   close!

   fenêtres

   windows

   avant de

   before doing

   fermer

   lock

   salle

   room

   à clé

   with a key; locked with a key

   More detail

   Ferme is the imperative of fermer (“to close”): fermer → tu fermes (you close) → ferme ! (close!). The imperative addresses one person informally. Example: Ferme la porte, s’il te plaît. — “Close the door, please.” fenêtres means “windows.” Its singular is fenêtre; the final -s marks the plural in writing: une fenêtre / des fenêtres. Here, les means “the,” so the utterance refers to specific windows understood from the situation. Example: Les fenêtres sont ouvertes. — “The windows are open.” avant de introduces an action that happens later: avant de + an infinitive. The infinitive after it does not carry a separate stated subject here. Example: Lave tes mains avant de manger. — “Wash your hands before eating.” fermer is the infinitive “to close.” In this sentence, the first occurrence is the command ferme, while this occurrence is required after avant de. The same verb can therefore appear as an imperative or as an infinitive. Example: Il faut fermer la porte. — “The door must be closed.” salle means “room” or “hall,” depending on the setting. Its feminine singular form is une salle; the definite form here is la salle, “the room.” Example: La salle est vide. — “The room is empty.” à clé is the expression “with a key,” used here with fermer to mean “lock” or “lock up.” It is not the ordinary meaning of fermer by itself: fermer la porte is “close the door,” whereas fermer la porte à clé is “lock the door.” Example: Ferme le portail à clé. — “Lock the gate.” Together, Ferme les fenêtres gives the command “Close the windows.” avant de fermer la salle à clé adds the time relation “before locking up the room.” The complete utterance therefore means: “Close the windows before we lock up.”

8. La salle semble prête pour le prochain groupe.

   The room looks ready for the next group.

   salle

   room

   semble

   seems

   prête

   ready

   prochain

   next

   groupe

   group

   More detail

   “salle” means “room” here. It is a feminine noun: une salle, la salle. The feminine gender belongs to the noun itself, not to the adjective next to it. Example: La salle est grande. — “The room is large.” “semble” is the present-tense form of sembler for il, elle, or another singular subject. sembler means “to seem” or “to appear.” A useful pattern is sembler + adjective: La salle semble calme. — “The room seems calm.” Here, semble links the room with the description that follows; it does not mean that someone is deliberately making the room ready. “prête” is the feminine singular form of the adjective prêt, “ready.” It agrees with the feminine singular noun salle: la salle est prête. The main forms are prêt (masculine singular), prête (feminine singular), prêts (masculine plural), and prêtes (feminine plural). Example: Les salles sont prêtes. — “The rooms are ready.” “prochain” is the masculine singular form of the adjective prochain, “next” in the relevant sequence. It agrees with the masculine singular noun groupe: le prochain groupe. The feminine singular form is prochaine, as in la prochaine réunion — “the next meeting.” “groupe” means “group.” It is a masculine noun: un groupe, le groupe. Example: Un groupe arrive. — “A group is arriving.” The utterance combines these parts as La salle semble prête (“The room seems ready”) and pour le prochain groupe (“for the next group”). Together, La salle semble prête pour le prochain groupe. means “The room looks ready for the next group.”

9. Ensuite, on peut fermer la porte à clé et partir.

   Then we can lock the door and leave.

   Ensuite

   then / next

   on peut

   we can

   fermer

   to close

   porte

   door

   à clé

   with a key

   partir

   to leave

   More detail

   Ensuite means “then” or “next” and places this action after the preceding situation. It is an adverb and does not change form. on peut expresses “we can” here. peut is the third-person singular present form of pouvoir, “to be able to / can”: je peux, tu peux, il/elle/on peut, nous pouvons. Although on has a singular grammatical form, it commonly means “we” in everyday French, as confirmed by the fixed translation. The following infinitive identifies the action that is possible or permitted. fermer means “to close.” It is an infinitive after peut; the modal verb carries the tense and person, while fermer remains in the infinitive. For example, On peut fermer la fenêtre means “We can close the window.” la porte means “the door.” porte is a feminine singular noun, so it takes the article la. The noun itself is not the source of the verb’s person or tense. à clé is used in the construction fermer quelque chose à clé, meaning “to lock something with a key.” In this sentence, it adds the method or resulting locked state to fermer la porte; it does not mean merely “close the door.” partir means “to leave” or “to depart.” Like fermer, it is an infinitive coordinated with the first action after peut. The pattern On peut A et B can therefore express that “we can” do both A and B. Together, on peut fermer la porte à clé means “we can lock the door,” and et partir adds “and leave.” With Ensuite at the beginning, the whole utterance means: “Then we can lock the door and leave.”