A fair cleaning routine | Learn French in English

Sentence explanations

1. Notre routine de ménage ne fonctionne pas, et la cuisine devient sans cesse désordonnée.

   Our cleaning routine is not working, and the kitchen keeps getting messy.

   routine

   routine

   ménage

   cleaning; household chores

   ne fonctionne pas

   does not work

   cuisine

   kitchen

   devient

   becomes; gets

   sans cesse

   constantly

   désordonnée

   messy; untidy

   More detail

   routine means a routine or regular way of doing something. The noun is feminine: une routine; its plural is des routines. In this sentence, routine is modified by de ménage, which specifies the kind of routine. ménage refers here to cleaning or household chores. The expression le ménage commonly means housework, while faire le ménage means “to do the cleaning/housework.” In routine de ménage, de links the general activity to the routine: “cleaning routine.” ne fonctionne pas means “does not work” here. The base verb is fonctionner; fonctionne is its present-tense third-person singular form, agreeing with routine. French standard negation places ne before the conjugated verb and pas after it: La machine ne fonctionne pas. — “The machine does not work.” cuisine means “kitchen” here. It is a feminine noun: une cuisine; the plural is des cuisines. The phrase la cuisine identifies the kitchen as the thing undergoing the change described afterward. devient means “becomes” or, in this context, “gets.” Its base verb is devenir, and devient is the present-tense third-person singular form. Devenir describes a change into a new state: La pièce devient calme. — “The room becomes quiet.” sans cesse means “constantly” or “continually.” It emphasizes that the change keeps happening repeatedly or continuously. It is a fixed adverbial expression, so it does not change to agree with cuisine or désordonnée. désordonnée means “messy” or “untidy” in this sentence. The adjective is feminine singular here because it describes feminine singular cuisine. Its masculine singular form is désordonné, and the plural forms are désordonnés and désordonnées according to the noun's gender and number. For example: La chambre devient désordonnée. — “The room gets messy.” Together, Notre routine de ménage ne fonctionne pas means “Our cleaning routine is not working.” Notre means “our” and agrees in form with the following singular noun routine; it does not assert how many people make up “our.” The second part, et la cuisine devient sans cesse désordonnée, means “and the kitchen keeps getting messy.” Thus the complete utterance says that the household cleaning routine is ineffective, while the kitchen continually becomes untidy again.

2. Je ne pense pas que l'un de nous deux le fasse exprès.

   I do not think either of us is doing it on purpose.

   Je

   I

   ne pense pas

   do not think

   l'un de nous deux

   either of us

   fasse

   do / make

   exprès

   on purpose

   More detail

   Je means “I” here. It is the first-person singular subject pronoun; nous is the corresponding first-person plural form. ne pense pas is the present-tense negative form of penser, “to think”: je pense means “I think,” while je ne pense pas means “I do not think.” In standard written French, ne ... pas surrounds the conjugated verb. The pattern ne pas penser que commonly leads to the subjunctive in the following clause. l'un de nous deux means “either of us” in this negative sentence, literally “one of the two of us.” l'un is the masculine singular form corresponding to l'une; the form identifies one member of the group without identifying which one. nous deux makes the group two people included in nous; it does not by itself say that both are speakers. fasse is the third-person singular present subjunctive of faire, “to do” or “to make.” Its subject is l'un, so it is singular. Here the subjunctive occurs after the negative expression je ne pense pas que. Compare je pense qu'il le fait (“I think he is doing it”) with je ne pense pas qu'il le fasse (“I do not think he is doing it”). le is a masculine singular direct-object pronoun meaning “it” here. The sentence does not identify a more specific antecedent for it; the fixed translation supports the general reference to the thing or action under discussion. exprès is an adverb meaning “on purpose” or “deliberately.” The reusable pattern faire quelque chose exprès means “to do something on purpose.” Here, le fasse exprès means “do it on purpose.” Together, Je ne pense pas que expresses the speaker's negative assessment, and l'un de nous deux le fasse exprès says that neither member of the two-person group is believed to be doing it deliberately. The complete utterance means: “I do not think either of us is doing it on purpose.”

3. Peut-être qu'il nous faut une règle plus claire, surtout pour la vaisselle et la cuisinière.

   Maybe we need a clearer standard, especially for dishes and the stove.

   Peut-être

   maybe

   il nous faut

   we need

   règle

   standard

   plus claire

   clearer

   surtout

   especially

   vaisselle

   dishes

   cuisinière

   stove

   More detail

   Peut-être means “maybe” and marks the statement as uncertain rather than definite. It normally comes at the beginning or near the clause it qualifies. Example: Peut-être qu’il viendra. — “Maybe he will come.” il nous faut is a reusable form of falloir, an impersonal verb. Here faut is its present-tense form, and nous indicates the people for whom something is needed: “we need.” The il belongs to this fixed construction; it is not a specific person identified by the sentence. Compare Il me faut du temps. — “I need time.” The person needing something is expressed by me, te, lui, nous, or another indirect object pronoun. règle is a feminine noun meaning “rule.” In this sentence, the intended meaning is a rule or standard for organizing the household tasks. Its plural is règles. plus claire means “clearer.” Claire is the feminine singular form of the adjective clair, agreeing with the feminine singular noun règle; the adjective itself carries the agreement, not the noun. Plus claire is the comparative pattern plus + adjective, meaning “clearer” or “more clear.” The masculine singular form is plus clair, while the feminine plural form is plus claires. surtout means “especially” or “above all.” It highlights the following part as the area receiving particular attention. Example: J’aime surtout les légumes. — “I especially like vegetables.” vaisselle is a feminine noun referring collectively to dishes, dishware, or the washing-up. In this sentence, it names one area for which the rule or standard is needed. It is commonly used as a mass or collective noun, so the intended meaning does not require a numerical count of dishes. cuisinière is a feminine noun meaning “stove” or “cooker.” Its meaning here is the household appliance, not a person who cooks; that person is also called cuisinière in some contexts, so the surrounding meaning identifies the appliance here. The plural is cuisinières. Together, Peut-être qu’il nous faut une règle plus claire means “Maybe we need a clearer standard.” The clause surtout pour la vaisselle et la cuisinière adds the areas to which that standard is particularly relevant: “especially for dishes and the stove.” The full utterance is therefore: “Maybe we need a clearer standard, especially for dishes and the stove.”

4. On pourrait alterner les tâches chaque semaine, pour que la même personne ne passe pas toujours la serpillière.

   We could rotate tasks weekly, so the same person does not always mop.

   On pourrait

   we could

   alterner

   alternate; rotate

   les tâches

   the tasks

   chaque semaine

   each week

   pour que

   so that

   la même personne

   the same person

   passe

   passes

   pas toujours

   not always

   la serpillière

   the mop

   More detail

   On pourrait means “we could” here. pourrait is the conditional form of pouvoir for on; the conditional presents the rotation as a possible proposal rather than a definite plan. In this sentence, on is understood as “we,” as confirmed by the fixed translation. A useful pattern is On pourrait + infinitive for suggesting an option: On pourrait commencer demain. — “We could start tomorrow.” alterner means “to alternate” or “to rotate.” It is an infinitive because it follows pourrait. The reusable pattern is alterner A et B or alterner les tâches, where responsibility or activities take turns. Example: Nous alternons les rôles. — “We alternate roles.” les tâches means “the tasks.” tâche is the singular base noun, and tâches is its plural; les is the plural definite article. In this utterance, the noun refers to the household tasks already relevant in the context. Example: Les tâches changent chaque semaine. — “The tasks change each week.” chaque semaine means “each week.” chaque marks the weeks one at a time, while semaine is the singular noun used after it. Compare chaque semaine — “each week” with toutes les semaines — “every week”; both can express regular repetition, but they are built differently. Example: Nous changeons de rôle chaque semaine. — “We change roles each week.” pour que introduces the intended result or purpose, “so that.” It is followed here by a clause with passe, rather than an infinitive. A reusable pattern is pour que + clause: Je l’écris pour que tu comprennes. — “I’m writing it so that you understand.” la même personne means “the same person.” personne is a feminine noun, so the definite article is la; même agrees with that noun in the feminine singular. même identifies the person as identical to the one referred to earlier, not as a new person. Example: La même personne ne choisit pas toujours. — “The same person does not always choose.” passe is from the verb passer, “to pass” or, in the fixed construction passer la serpillière, “to mop.” Here it is the third-person singular present subjunctive form required after pour que; it has the same written form as the third-person singular present indicative, so the conjunction and sentence function show why it is subjunctive. The subject is la même personne. Example: Il faut qu’elle passe la serpillière. — “She has to mop.” pas toujours means “not always.” pas forms the negation, and toujours means “always”; together they limit the frequency of the action. The negation applies to the whole idea of mopping every time, not to the existence of the person or the task. Example: Je ne cuisine pas toujours. — “I do not always cook.” la serpillière means “the mop.” serpillière is a feminine singular noun, hence la. With passer, the fixed expression passer la serpillière means “to mop,” just as passer l’aspirateur means “to vacuum.” The noun itself names the cleaning tool; the complete verb–noun construction names the activity. Taken together, On pourrait alterner les tâches chaque semaine proposes rotating the tasks week by week. pour que la même personne ne passe pas toujours la serpillière gives the purpose: this arrangement prevents the same person from mopping every time. The whole utterance therefore means: “We could rotate tasks weekly, so the same person does not always mop.”

5. Ça me paraît juste, même si je préfère sortir les poubelles plutôt que nettoyer la salle de bains.

   That sounds fair, although I prefer taking out the trash to cleaning the bathroom.

   me paraît

   seems to me

   juste

   fair

   même si

   although

   je préfère

   I prefer

   sortir

   to take out

   les poubelles

   the trash

   plutôt que

   rather than

   nettoyer

   to clean

   la salle de bains

   the bathroom

   More detail

   me paraît: Here, paraît is the third-person singular present form of paraître (“to seem/appear”); me means “to me.” The subject is ça in the full sentence, so the construction means “seems to me.” This pattern is reusable: Cela me paraît utile. — “That seems useful to me.” juste: In this sentence, juste means “fair,” describing the situation or proposal as reasonable. It can also mean “correct” or “exact” in other contexts. As an adjective, it agrees when needed: juste is the singular form, while the plural is justes. même si: This conjunction introduces a condition or concession: “even if” or, in this translation, “although.” French normally uses an indicative verb after même si: Même s'il pleut, je sors. — “Even if it rains, I go out.” je préfère: préfère is the first-person singular present form of préférer, “to prefer”; je préfère means “I prefer.” A common comparison pattern is préférer X à Y: Je préfère le thé au café. — “I prefer tea to coffee.” The sentence here instead uses plutôt que to introduce the alternative. sortir: This is the infinitive of sortir, “to go out” or “to take out,” depending on its object. With les poubelles, as in this sentence, sortir les poubelles means “to take out the trash.” The infinitive follows je préfère, so it names the preferred activity without adding another subject. les poubelles: poubelles is the feminine plural noun for “trash bins” or, in this context, “the trash.” les marks the definite plural noun phrase. The singular is la poubelle: Je sors la poubelle. — “I take out the trash bin.” plutôt que: This expression means “rather than” and introduces the activity that is less preferred in the comparison. After je préfère sortir les poubelles, it connects the preferred activity with the alternative nettoyer la salle de bains. nettoyer: This is the infinitive of nettoyer, “to clean.” Here it names the alternative activity, “cleaning.” Its infinitive form parallels sortir: Je préfère cuisiner plutôt que nettoyer. — “I prefer cooking rather than cleaning.” la salle de bains: This fixed noun phrase means “the bathroom.” salle is a feminine singular noun, so it takes la; de bains is part of the established expression, with bains in the plural. For example, La salle de bains est petite. means “The bathroom is small.” Together, Ça me paraît juste means “That seems fair to me.” même si then introduces the concession je préfère sortir les poubelles plutôt que nettoyer la salle de bains: the speaker considers the arrangement fair, while personally preferring to take out the trash rather than clean the bathroom.

6. Les préférences, c'est bien, mais il faut quand même se répartir les tâches désagréables.

   Preferences are fine, but the unpleasant jobs still need to be shared.

   préférences

   preferences

   c'est bien

   that’s fine

   il faut

   it is necessary; one must

   quand même

   still; nevertheless

   se répartir

   to share out

   tâches

   tasks; jobs

   désagréables

   unpleasant

   More detail

   préférences is the plural of préférence, “preference.” The ending -s marks plural here. A useful related form is préférer, the verb “to prefer,” as in: Je préfère sortir les poubelles. — “I prefer taking out the trash.” c’est bien contains c’, the shortened form of ce before est, and bien, “well/good.” In this utterance, the whole expression evaluates preferences positively: “preferences are fine.” C’est is a present-tense form of être; it is not a form of préférer. il faut comes from the impersonal verb falloir. Faut is its present-tense form used with the fixed subject il; this construction means that something is necessary, without naming a particular person as the grammatical subject. Here, the necessary action is supplied by the following infinitive phrase. Compare the reusable pattern Il faut travailler. — “It is necessary to work.” quand même means “still” or “nevertheless.” It marks a point that remains valid despite the preceding concession: preferences are acceptable, but the practical obligation remains. It is a fixed adverbial expression, not a literal instruction to do something “when even.” se répartir means “to share out among oneself/themselves” or “to divide among the people involved.” Répartir is the infinitive; se makes the construction reflexive/reciprocal. With il faut, the infinitive stays in this form: Il faut se répartir les tâches. — “The tasks need to be shared out.” The people who share them are understood from the situation rather than named as a separate subject in this sentence. tâches is the plural of the feminine noun tâche, “task” or “job.” In this context it refers to jobs that need doing, such as household chores. Do not confuse it with tache without the circumflex, which is a different French word meaning “stain” or “spot.” désagréables is the plural form of the adjective désagréable, “unpleasant.” It agrees with tâches in number; the adjective itself has the same written form for masculine and feminine plural in this case. The base adjective is désagréable, not the noun tâche. A useful contrast is des tâches agréables — “pleasant tasks.” Together, c’est bien acknowledges that people may have different preferences, while mais introduces a contrast. il faut quand même se répartir les tâches désagréables says that, despite those preferences, the unpleasant jobs still need to be shared among the people involved. Thus the full utterance means: “Preferences are fine, but the unpleasant jobs still need to be shared.”

7. Si on l'écrit, on peut éviter que la rancœur s'accumule plus tard.

   If we write it down, we can keep resentment from building up later.

   Si

   if

   on peut

   we can

   l'écrit

   writes it down

   éviter

   avoid

   la rancœur

   resentment

   s'accumule

   builds up

   plus tard

   later

   More detail

   Si introduces a condition: “if …”. In French, a present-tense si clause can be followed by a present form for a real or feasible result. Example: Si tu viens, on commence. — “If you come, we’ll start.” on peut means “we can” here. peut is the third-person singular present form of pouvoir; on takes this singular verb form even when it refers to “we” in an informal or general expression. pouvoir is followed by an infinitive: on peut éviter — “we can avoid.” In l'écrit, l' is the elided object pronoun meaning “it,” placed before the verb because French object pronouns normally precede a conjugated verb. écrit is the present form of écrire with on: on écrit — “we write.” The fixed sentence does not specify exactly what “it” refers to. The apostrophe in l' appears before the vowel sound of écrit. éviter is an infinitive meaning “to avoid.” Here it introduces the result that is possible: on peut éviter — “we can avoid.” With a following clause, the reusable pattern is éviter que + a clause: “prevent/avoid something happening.” la rancœur is a feminine noun meaning “resentment.” The feminine article is part of the noun phrase here; rancœur is the noun itself. Example: La rancœur disparaît parfois. — “Resentment sometimes disappears.” s'accumule means “builds up” here. It is the present third-person singular form of the pronominal verb s'accumuler, agreeing with the singular subject la rancœur. The se element is elided to s' before the vowel of accumule. In the pattern éviter que la rancœur s'accumule, the clause describes what is being prevented, and French uses the subjunctive after éviter que; s'accumule is the present subjunctive form, which has the same written form as the present indicative for this verb and person. plus tard is a time expression meaning “later.” It modifies the time of the buildup, not the writing: the resentment may build up later. Together, Si on l'écrit means “If we write it down.” on peut éviter que presents a possible way to prevent something, and la rancœur s'accumule plus tard specifies what is to be prevented: resentment building up later. The whole utterance therefore means, “If we write it down, we can keep resentment from building up later.”

8. Faisons un tableau simple et revoyons-le après l'avoir essayé pendant quelque temps.

   Let's make a simple chart and review it after we try it for a while.

   Faisons

   let’s make

   tableau

   chart

   simple

   simple

   revoyons-le

   let’s review it

   après

   after

   l'avoir essayé

   having tried it

   pendant quelque temps

   for a while

   More detail

   Faisons is the first-person plural imperative of faire (“to make/do”) here. It expresses a proposal involving the speaker and at least one other person: Faisons une liste. — “Let’s make a list.” The same form is also the ordinary first-person plural present form of faire in other contexts, such as Nous faisons une liste. — “We are making a list”; the proposal meaning here comes from the sentence's use as an imperative. tableau means “chart” or “table.” It is a masculine noun: un tableau, le tableau. Here it is the thing the group proposes to make. The indefinite article un identifies a chart without by itself stating a numerical count. simple means “simple.” It modifies tableau, so it is masculine singular here. The masculine and feminine singular forms of this adjective are both simple; other French adjectives may show a visible gender difference, so each adjective's agreement must be checked separately. revoyons-le combines the first-person plural imperative of revoir (“to review/look over again”) with the object pronoun le (“it”). The hyphenated pronoun follows an affirmative imperative: Relisons-le. — “Let’s read it again.” Here le refers to the chart: Revoir is the base form, and its re- element contributes the idea of doing something again in this word. après means “after” and introduces what happens later. Before an infinitive phrase, it can be followed by a completed infinitive to show that one action is completed first: après avoir vérifié — “after having checked.” l'avoir essayé means “having tried it.” l' is the elided object pronoun le before avoir; avoir is the infinitive of “to have,” and essayé is the past participle of essayer (“to try”). Together, avoir essayé forms the past infinitive, presenting the trying as completed before the reviewing. Here l' refers to the chart: après l'avoir lu — “after having read it.” With avoir, the past participle can agree with a preceding direct object in relevant cases; the masculine singular referent here does not produce an added feminine -e, so the observed form is essayé. pendant quelque temps means “for a while” or “for some time.” pendant marks a duration, while quelque temps is an unspecified amount of time. For example, Nous avons attendu pendant quelque temps. — “We waited for a while.” As a whole, Faisons un tableau simple proposes making a simple chart. et revoyons-le adds a second proposal, to review that chart, and après l'avoir essayé pendant quelque temps places the review after the group has tried using it for a while. The sentence therefore means: “Let’s make a simple chart and review it after we try it for a while.”

9. Si ça nous semble trop strict, on peut le modifier au lieu de se disputer.

   If it feels too strict, we can adjust it instead of arguing.

   Si

   if

   ça

   it

   nous

   us / to us

   semble

   seems / feels

   trop

   too

   strict

   strict

   on peut

   we can

   modifier

   adjust / modify

   au lieu de

   instead of

   se disputer

   argue

   More detail

   Si introduces a condition: “if …”. In French, a condition about a possible situation commonly uses si + a present-tense clause, followed here by another present-tense clause. Example: Si tu veux, on commence. — “If you want, we’ll start.” ça is a third-person singular demonstrative pronoun meaning “it” or “that”. Here it is the subject of semble; the fixed translation presents it as “it”, without identifying a more specific noun. It is distinct from cela, a more formal alternative. nous means “us” or “to us”. With sembler, ça nous semble means “it seems to us” or, naturally here, “it feels to us”. Nous is the people experiencing the impression, not the grammatical subject: ça is the subject and semble agrees with it. semble is the present form of sembler for a third-person singular subject. sembler can be followed by an adjective: Le plan semble simple. — “The plan seems simple.” In this sentence, semble describes the impression that ça gives the speakers. trop means “too” when it marks an excessive degree. It comes before the adjective in trop strict. Do not confuse it with très, which means “very” without expressing excess: très strict means “very strict”, while trop strict means “too strict”. strict is an adjective meaning “strict”. The observed form is masculine singular; its base form is also strict. Its feminine singular form is stricte, as in une règle stricte — “a strict rule.” Here it describes ça in the fixed sentence, rather than the people experiencing the impression. on peut means “we can” in this context. On is grammatically third-person singular but frequently represents “we” in everyday French, which is why peut is the third-person singular present form of pouvoir. Pouvoir + an infinitive expresses ability or permission depending on context; here it expresses the possibility of making a change. Example: On peut attendre. — “We can wait.” modifier is the infinitive “to modify” or “to adjust”. After peut, French uses the infinitive: on peut modifier. The object is supplied by le, which refers to the thing being discussed and adjusted; the supplied translation confirms the intended meaning “it”, without requiring a more specific identification. au lieu de means “instead of”. It introduces an alternative, and before a verb it is followed by the infinitive: au lieu de partir — “instead of leaving.” se disputer is a pronominal infinitive meaning “to argue” or “to quarrel”. The pronoun se is part of this verb construction and indicates the participants arguing with each other. In the fixed sentence, it follows de: au lieu de se disputer — “instead of arguing.” A different verb, discuter, usually means “to discuss” and does not by itself imply a quarrel. Together, Si ça nous semble trop strict means “If it feels too strict to us”. on peut le modifier means “we can adjust it”, and au lieu de se disputer specifies the alternative: “instead of arguing.” The whole utterance therefore means: “If it feels too strict, we can adjust it instead of arguing.”

10. Le but, c'est d'avoir une maison plus propre, pas un système parfait.

    The goal is a cleaner home, not a perfect system.

    but

    goal

    c'est

    it is

    d'avoir

    to have

    maison

    home; house

    plus propre

    cleaner

    système

    system

    parfait

    perfect

    More detail

    but is a masculine noun meaning “goal” here. Its plural is buts. The definite article in Le but presents the goal as identifiable in the situation; un but would introduce a goal less specifically. c'est combines ce and the present-tense form est of être. In Le but, c'est..., French uses a topic followed by an identifying clause: “The goal is...”. The reusable pattern is Le but, c'est de + infinitive. d'avoir is de followed by the infinitive avoir (“to have”); the vowel of de is elided before avoir. The infinitive names the action or result that is identified as the goal. Avoir is the base form; its present forms include j'ai and il/elle a. Example: Le but, c'est d'avoir du temps. — “The goal is to have time.” maison is a feminine noun meaning “house” or “home” in this context. The phrase une maison uses the feminine singular indefinite article; that article introduces the noun but does not by itself assert a numerical count. Example: La maison est calme. — “The house is quiet.” plus propre is the comparative form of the adjective propre, meaning “cleaner” here. Propre can also mean “one’s own” in other contexts, but the intended sense here is cleanliness. The pattern plus + adjective compares a quality; plus propre que... means “cleaner than...”. Propre does not change form for masculine versus feminine in the singular: un lieu propre, une maison propre. système is a masculine noun meaning “system.” Its plural is systèmes. In the utterance it is introduced with un, giving the contrast “a system”; the noun is then modified by parfait. parfait is an adjective meaning “perfect.” It agrees with the masculine singular noun système, so the observed form is masculine singular. With a feminine singular noun, the form is parfaite; with plural nouns, it is parfaits or parfaites according to gender. Example: une solution parfaite — “a perfect solution.” Together, Le but, c'est de... identifies the intended objective, and d'avoir une maison plus propre states that objective as having a cleaner home. The contrast introduced by pas rejects un système parfait: the aim is the cleaner home, not a perfect system. The complete meaning is therefore “The goal is a cleaner home, not a perfect system.”