Talking calmly to a neighbor about noise | Learn French in English

Sentence explanations

1. La musique des voisins d'à côté m'a empêché de dormir plusieurs nuits ces derniers temps.

   The music next door has kept me up several nights lately.

   musique

   music

   voisins

   neighbors

   d'à côté

   next door

   m'a empêché

   kept me from

   dormir

   to sleep

   plusieurs

   several

   nuits

   nights

   ces derniers temps

   lately

   More detail

   musique means “music” here. It is a feminine singular noun: la musique means “the music.” A useful contrast is des musiques, “different pieces or kinds of music,” when the noun is plural. voisins means “neighbors.” The singular is voisin for a masculine referent and voisine for a feminine referent; the plural form voisins is used here for the neighbors identified by the translation as the people next door. In des voisins, des is the plural indefinite article, not a statement of a specific number. d'à côté means “next door” or “from next door.” It identifies the neighbors by location. The same location expression can be used with a noun in other sentences, for example la chambre d'à côté, “the room next door.” m'a empêché is a passé composé construction. m' is the shortened form of the direct-object pronoun me, “me”; a is the third-person singular present form of the auxiliary avoir; and empêché is the past participle of empêcher, “to prevent” or “to keep from.” Together, with la musique as subject, this says that the music kept me from doing something. In this sentence, the direct-object pronoun me comes before the verb. With avoir, a preceding direct object can affect past-participle agreement; however, the fixed sentence does not identify the speaker's gender, so the observed form empêché should not be used to claim a masculine referent. The form shown is simply the form present in the source. dormir is the infinitive “to sleep.” After empêcher quelqu'un de, French uses de followed by an infinitive: Elle m'empêche de dormir means “She keeps me from sleeping.” The infinitive does not mark the person; the pronoun before empêcher identifies who is affected. plusieurs means “several” or “more than one.” It is an indefinite determiner placed before the plural noun nuits; it does not give an exact number. It does not change for masculine and feminine nouns in this use: plusieurs jours and plusieurs nuits. nuits means “nights.” Its singular is nuit, and the final -s marks the plural in this form. The phrase plusieurs nuits therefore refers to more than one night, without specifying how many. ces derniers temps means “lately” or “in recent times.” ces is the plural demonstrative determiner, and derniers agrees with the plural masculine noun temps; temps has the same spelling in the singular and plural. As a time expression, the whole phrase places the repeated nights in the recent period, rather than naming one particular night. Taken together, La musique des voisins d'à côté is “the music from the neighbors next door.” The subject m'a empêché de dormir says that it kept me from sleeping, and plusieurs nuits ces derniers temps specifies that this happened on several nights lately. The complete meaning is: “The music next door has kept me up several nights lately.”

2. Alors, nous devrions leur parler avant que cela ne devienne un conflit plus important.

   Then we should talk to them before it becomes a bigger conflict.

   Alors

   then

   nous devrions

   we should

   leur

   to them

   parler

   talk

   avant que

   before

   cela

   it

   ne devienne

   becomes

   un conflit

   a conflict

   plus important

   bigger

   More detail

   Alors means “then” here and links this proposal to what has just been said. It can also introduce a consequence or move in a conversation; here it is not part of the verb phrase. nous devrions means “we should.” The form devrions is the conditional present of devoir, with nous as its subject. devoir expresses obligation or advisability; in this conditional form, the recommendation is presented less directly than nous devons (“we must” / “we have to”). The reusable pattern is nous devrions + infinitive: “we should …” leur is the indirect-object pronoun meaning “to them” in this sentence. The verb parler normally takes à before a person or people, but the pronoun replaces that phrase: parler à eux is replaced by leur parler in this construction. As an indirect-object pronoun, leur does not change for the gender or number of the people referred to; plural is understood from its role here. parler is the infinitive “to talk.” After the conditional form devrions, French uses an infinitive rather than a second conjugated verb. The useful pattern is parler à quelqu’un (“to talk to someone”); with a pronoun, that becomes lui parler for one person or leur parler for more than one person. avant que means “before” and introduces an event or situation that has not yet occurred at the relevant point. It is followed by a subjunctive clause in standard French. Compare avant de parler (“before talking”) when the subject is the same, with avant que … when a finite clause is needed. cela is the demonstrative pronoun “it” or “that.” Here it is the subject of the following clause and refers to the situation being discussed, understood in the translation as what may become a bigger conflict. It is a pronoun, not a noun with grammatical gender to display in this form; the form cela itself does not change for number or gender in this use. ne devienne means “becomes.” devienne is the present subjunctive of devenir (“to become”), with cela as its subject. The subjunctive is required here by avant que. The ne in this construction is the so-called expletive ne: after expressions such as avant que, it does not make the clause negative. Actual negation would normally also contain pas, as in ne devienne pas (“does not become”). un conflit means “a conflict.” conflit is a masculine singular noun, so the indefinite article is un; the article does not by itself state a numerical count as the main point here. The noun can be reused in patterns such as éviter un conflit (“avoid a conflict”) or résoudre un conflit (“resolve a conflict”). plus important means “bigger” here, literally “more important.” important is the adjective, whose base form is important; plus marks comparison. Because it describes masculine singular conflit, the observed form is masculine singular important. The adjective does not become a noun: conflit is the noun being described. The comparative pattern is plus + adjective: plus important (“more important”); its opposite is moins important (“less important”). Together, nous devrions leur parler says “we should talk to them.” avant que cela ne devienne places that action before the situation becomes something else, with the subjunctive and expletive ne required by this French construction. Finally, un conflit plus important means “a bigger conflict.” The complete utterance therefore means: “Then we should talk to them before it becomes a bigger conflict.”

3. Je ne veux pas avoir l'air dramatique, car ils ne se rendent peut-être pas compte que la musique est forte.

   I do not want to sound dramatic, because they may not realize it is loud.

   Je ne veux pas

   I do not want to

   avoir l'air

   to sound / seem

   dramatique

   dramatic

   ils

   they

   ne se rendent … peut-être pas … compte

   may not realize

   musique

   music

   forte

   loud

   More detail

   Je ne veux pas expresses “I do not want.” veux is the first-person singular present form of vouloir (“to want”): je veux, tu veux, ils veulent. French negation here surrounds the conjugated verb: ne ... pas. The next verb stays in the infinitive, as in Je veux partir (“I want to leave”) and Je ne veux pas partir (“I do not want to leave”). avoir l'air is a reusable expression meaning “to seem” or “to come across as.” It literally contains avoir (“to have”) plus l'air (“the appearance”), but it functions as a unit. It is followed here by the adjective dramatique: avoir l'air dramatique means “to sound/seem dramatic.” For example, Elle a l'air fatiguée means “She seems tired.” The adjective agrees with the person or thing being described, not with air in this expression. dramatique means “dramatic” here. It has the same written form for masculine and feminine singular; plural is dramatiques. In this sentence it describes how the speaker might come across, rather than asserting that the speaker is actually dramatic. ils means “they.” It is a third-person plural subject pronoun. The fixed translation identifies the subject as “they,” but does not specify more precisely who they are. Its plural form reflects the group; it does not by itself identify the group’s gender composition. ne se rendent ... compte is the discontinuous form of se rendre compte de, “to realize” or “to become aware of.” The observed form se rendent is the third-person plural present form of se rendre; the reflexive pronoun se matches the plural subject ils. Compare je me rends compte (“I realize”) and ils se rendent compte (“they realize”). In the sentence, peut-être and pas occur inside the larger negative expression, so ils ne se rendent peut-être pas compte que ... means “they may not realize that ...” The que clause states what they may fail to realize. peut-être pas contributes uncertainty together with negation: the speaker presents their non-realization as possible, not certain. peut-être can also appear in a simple possibility statement, as in Il viendra peut-être (“He may come”), but here it combines with ne ... pas around se rendent compte. musique means “music.” It is a feminine singular noun, as shown by the article la in la musique. A useful related phrase is de la musique (“some music”), while la musique refers to the music as the relevant subject or topic here. forte means “loud” in this context. The adjective’s base form is fort (“strong” or, depending on context, “loud”); forte is its feminine singular form, agreeing with feminine singular musique. For example, Le son est fort means “The sound is loud,” while La musique est forte means “The music is loud.” The sentence is assembled as Je ne veux pas + avoir l'air dramatique: “I do not want to sound dramatic.” The conjunction car means “because” and introduces the reason. That reason is ils ne se rendent peut-être pas compte que la musique est forte: “they may not realize that the music is loud.” Together, the utterance means: “I do not want to sound dramatic, because they may not realize it is loud.”

4. Commence par leur dire que les murs sont fins et que tu dois te coucher tôt.

   Start by saying the walls are thin and you need to sleep early.

   Commence par

   Start by

   leur dire

   tell them

   les murs

   the walls

   fins

   thin

   dois

   need to

   te coucher

   go to bed

   tôt

   early

   More detail

   Commence par uses the imperative of commencer (“to start”) followed by par and an infinitive. This is a reusable pattern for ordering actions: Commence par + infinitive = “Start by …”. The imperative here addresses one person informally; the subject is understood rather than written. leur dire means “to tell them”. dire is the infinitive “to tell/say”, and leur is an indirect-object pronoun meaning “to them”. In French, leur does not show the number or gender of the people referred to. Compare lui dire (“to tell him/her”) with leur dire (“to tell them”). les murs means “the walls”. mur is the singular noun “wall”; murs is its plural form, and les is the plural definite article “the”. fins describes les murs as “thin”. The base adjective is fin; fins is its masculine-plural form, agreeing with the masculine-plural noun murs. The feminine singular is fine, and the feminine plural is fines. This adjective can also mean “fine” in other contexts, so its meaning here comes from the description of the walls. dois is the first-person singular present form of devoir, “must/need to”. With tu, the complete form is tu dois, meaning “you must” or “you need to”. The form changes with the subject: je dois means “I must”, while ils doivent means “they must”. te coucher means “to go to bed”. coucher is the infinitive, and te marks the reflexive relationship with the subject tu: literally, “to put yourself to bed,” though the natural meaning here is “to go to bed”. With another subject, the reflexive pronoun changes: je me couche = “I go to bed”, while tu te couches = “you go to bed”. Tôt is the adverb “early”. It modifies the action of going to bed, so te coucher tôt means “to go to bed early”. Its opposite is tard, “late”. For example, Je me couche tôt means “I go to bed early.” The two que clauses provide the content of what should be said: que les murs sont fins = “that the walls are thin”, and que tu dois te coucher tôt = “that you need to go to bed early”. Sont is the present form of être for les murs, and tu dois keeps the second-person subject of the second clause. The whole utterance therefore means: “Start by saying that the walls are thin and that you need to sleep early.”

5. Est-ce qu'on devrait mentionner les règles de l'immeuble concernant les heures de silence ?

   Should we mention the building rules about quiet hours?

   Est-ce qu'on

   Should we…?

   devrait

   should / ought to

   mentionner

   to mention

   règles

   rules

   immeuble

   building

   concernant

   concerning / about

   heures

   hours

   silence

   silence

   More detail

   Est-ce qu'on begins a yes-or-no question. Est-ce que is a reusable French question pattern; here on means “we,” so Est-ce qu'on devrait… ? asks whether the speakers ought to do something. In other contexts, on can also mean “people” or “someone,” but the fixed translation supports “we” here. devrait is the conditional form of devoir for on: on devrait means “we should” or “we ought to.” The conditional makes this a suggestion or question about an advisable action, rather than stating that the action is required. Compare on doit (“we must / have to”), which expresses stronger obligation. mentionner is an infinitive meaning “to mention.” After the conjugated modal devrait, French uses the infinitive: on devrait mentionner = “we should mention.” Example: On devrait appeler demain. — “We should call tomorrow.” les règles means “the rules.” règles is the plural of règle; the plural article les and the final -s show that more than one rule is meant. Example: Je connais les règles. — “I know the rules.” de l'immeuble means “of the building.” immeuble is a noun for a building, especially a residential or multi-unit building. de l' combines de with the singular article l' before a vowel sound. Here it identifies which rules are meant: the building’s rules. concernant means “concerning” or “about.” It introduces the topic of the rules: they concern the quiet hours. This is a useful formal or neutral way to connect a noun with its subject. les heures means “the hours” or, in this context, “the time periods.” heures is the plural of heure. The definite article les presents these hours as identifiable in the situation, rather than asserting a numeric count. de silence means “of silence,” giving the type of hours: quiet hours. silence is a noun meaning “silence.” The pattern des heures de + noun can describe a time period defined by an activity or condition; for example, des heures de travail means “working hours.” Together, mentionner les règles de l'immeuble concernant les heures de silence means “mention the building rules about quiet hours.” The full question asks, “Should we mention the building rules about quiet hours?” It presents mentioning them as a possible advisable action, without saying that the speakers have already done so or that mentioning them is mandatory.

6. Seulement s'ils refusent de coopérer. Un rappel amical est plus raisonnable au début.

   Only if they refuse to cooperate. A friendly reminder is more reasonable at first.

   Seulement

   only

   s'ils

   if they

   refusent

   refuse

   coopérer

   cooperate

   rappel

   reminder

   amical

   friendly

   plus raisonnable

   more reasonable

   début

   beginning

   More detail

   Seulement means “only” and limits the condition that follows. It does not mean “just” in the sense of approximate time or manner here. s'ils combines si (“if”) with ils (“they”). Before ils, si elides its final vowel: si ils becomes s'ils. ils is the third-person plural subject form; the fixed translation identifies the group as “they,” but does not specify who they are. refusent is the present-tense third-person plural form of refuser, “to refuse.” The plural subject ils selects this ending. In this sentence, the refusal takes an action as its complement: refuser de + infinitive. coopérer is the infinitive “to cooperate.” After refuser de, the following action is expressed with an infinitive: refuser de coopérer = “refuse to cooperate.” The accent on é is part of the spelling of this verb. Together, s'ils refusent de coopérer means “if they refuse to cooperate.” With Seulement, the complete first fragment means “Only if they refuse to cooperate.” It states a condition, rather than asserting that they have refused. rappel is a masculine noun meaning “reminder.” The phrase un rappel introduces a singular reminder, while un is an indefinite article rather than a claim that the reminder is numerically “one” in contrast with others. amical is the masculine singular form of the adjective meaning “friendly.” It agrees with the masculine singular noun rappel: un rappel amical. Its feminine singular counterpart is amicale, as in une remarque amicale (“a friendly remark”). plus raisonnable means “more reasonable.” raisonnable is the base adjective, and plus marks the comparative. The comparison is with an understood alternative in this context; the sentence does not name what that alternative is. The adjective agrees with the noun in the phrase: un rappel plus raisonnable is masculine singular, although raisonnable itself has the same written form in masculine and feminine singular contexts. début is a masculine noun meaning “beginning” or “start.” In au début, au is the contraction of à + le, so the phrase literally has the structure “at the beginning.” Here it is idiomatically translated as “at first” or “in the beginning.” The second sentence assembles as Un rappel amical (“a friendly reminder”) + est plus raisonnable (“is more reasonable”) + au début (“at first”): “A friendly reminder is more reasonable at first.” Overall, the utterance presents a friendly reminder as the preferable initial approach, while reserving the stronger condition mentioned in the first fragment for the case where they refuse to cooperate.

7. On pourrait peut-être leur suggérer d'utiliser des écouteurs plus tard dans la soirée, quand nous devons travailler le lendemain.

   Maybe we can suggest that they use headphones later in the evening when we have work the next day.

   On pourrait

   we could

   peut-être

   maybe

   leur

   to them

   suggérer

   suggest

   d'utiliser

   to use

   écouteurs

   headphones

   plus tard

   later

   soirée

   evening

   quand

   when

   devons

   must / need to

   travailler

   work

   lendemain

   following day

   More detail

   On pourrait combines on with the conditional form pourrait of pouvoir. Here on means “we,” as confirmed by the fixed translation; in other contexts, on can have other meanings, so do not treat it as always equivalent to nous. Pourrait expresses a possible or tentative suggestion: “could.” The reusable pattern is on pourrait + infinitive, “we could + verb.” Example: On pourrait partir maintenant. — “We could leave now.” Peut-être means “maybe” and makes the proposal less definite. It can also appear elsewhere in a sentence without changing the form of the verb. Leur is an indirect-object pronoun meaning “to them” here. It is used for plural indirect recipients and does not show whether those recipients are masculine or feminine. The singular indirect form is lui: Je lui parle — “I speak to him/her.” Suggérer is the infinitive “to suggest.” After pourrait, French uses the infinitive: On pourrait suggérer... The construction suggérer de + infinitive means “suggest doing something,” as in Elle suggère de partir. — “She suggests leaving.” D'utiliser contains the elided preposition de before utiliser; it is not a contraction into a single grammatical form. Utiliser is the infinitive, and the sequence belongs to the construction suggérer de + infinitive. Its present first-person plural form is nous utilisons, but no finite form is needed here. Écouteurs is the plural noun “headphones.” Its singular is écouteur; the plural ending -s is written but not normally pronounced separately. In this sentence it is the thing that the people are suggested to use. Plus tard means “later,” referring to a time after the relevant current or expected time. It is a time expression, not a comparative adjective modifying écouteurs. Soirée means “evening” or “evening period.” It is a feminine noun: une soirée, plural des soirées. In the full phrase dans la soirée, the preposition dans presents the evening as the time period in which something happens. Quand introduces a time clause, “when.” It connects the suggested action with the time situation described in the following clause. Example: Quand je rentre, je me repose. — “When I get home, I rest.” Devons is the first-person plural present form of devoir, used with nous: nous devons. Here it expresses that we need to work the next day. The infinitive is devoir; compare nous devons travailler — “we have to work” — with nous pouvons travailler — “we can work.” Travailler is the infinitive “to work.” It follows devons, because a conjugated form of devoir is followed by another verb in the infinitive: Nous devons travailler. — “We have to work.” Lendemain means “following day” or, from a suitable reference point, “next day.” The usual expression is le lendemain. It does not mean simply any later day; it identifies the day following the relevant one. Example: Je pars le lendemain. — “I leave the following day.” Together, On pourrait peut-être leur suggérer means “Maybe we could suggest to them,” and d'utiliser des écouteurs specifies what they would be suggested to do. Plus tard dans la soirée places that use later in the evening. The clause quand nous devons travailler le lendemain identifies the time situation: this is when we need to work the following day. The complete meaning is: “Maybe we can suggest that they use headphones later in the evening when we have work the next day.”

8. Ce serait un compromis pratique, et cela ne les accuse pas directement.

   That would be a practical compromise, and it does not accuse them directly.

   Ce serait

   That would be

   compromis

   compromise

   pratique

   practical

   cela

   it

   ne … pas

   not

   accuse

   accuses

   les

   them

   directement

   directly

   More detail

   Ce serait means “that would be.” serait is the third-person singular conditional form of être (“to be”): être → est (is) → serait (would be). The conditional presents the idea as a possible or proposed situation rather than a fact. Here, ce is the demonstrative pronoun “that,” referring to the proposed arrangement in the sentence. compromis is a masculine singular noun meaning “compromise.” Its plural is compromis as well: the written form does not change, though the article or surrounding words can show number. For example, un compromis means “a compromise,” while des compromis means “compromises.” pratique is the adjective “practical” here. It agrees with the masculine singular noun compromis; its form is also used with feminine singular nouns, so agreement is shown by the surrounding context in this phrase. A useful contrast is une solution pratique (“a practical solution”), where the adjective has the same spelling. cela is a demonstrative pronoun meaning “that” or “it.” In this sentence it is the subject of the second clause and refers to the proposed compromise as an action or arrangement. Unlike a personal pronoun such as il or elle, cela does not identify a masculine or feminine noun by its form. ne ... pas is the standard French negation pattern. The two parts surround the conjugated verb: cela ne les accuse pas means “it does not accuse them.” In less formal speech, ne is often omitted, but the complete pattern is useful in careful or written French. accuse is the present-tense third-person singular form of accuser, “to accuse.” The subject is cela, so the verb has the il/elle/on form: cela accuse (“it accuses”). The direct object can follow it directly, as in accuser quelqu'un (“to accuse someone”). les is the plural direct-object pronoun “them” here. It comes before the conjugated verb: cela les accuse literally follows the pattern “it them accuses.” Its form does not identify the people’s gender; les is used for a plural group regardless of gender. directement means “directly.” It is an adverb modifying accuse, explaining the manner of the accusing. The adjective direct is related in form and meaning, while directement is the adverb used to describe how an action is carried out. Together, Ce serait un compromis pratique means “That would be a practical compromise.” The second clause, et cela ne les accuse pas directement, adds that this proposed arrangement does not accuse them directly. The whole utterance therefore presents the arrangement as a possible practical compromise and describes its non-accusatory effect toward them.

9. Je peux choisir un moment tranquille ce soir pour leur parler.

   I can choose a calm moment this evening to talk to them.

   Je peux

   I can

   choisir

   choose

   moment

   moment

   tranquille

   calm

   ce soir

   this evening

   leur

   to them

   parler

   talk

   More detail

   Je peux means “I can” here. peux is the first-person singular present form of pouvoir (“to be able to/can”): je peux, tu peux, but il/elle peut. French places the following action in the infinitive: Je peux choisir = “I can choose.” choisir is the infinitive “to choose.” After a conjugated form of pouvoir, it remains in the infinitive rather than changing for the subject. Example: Nous pouvons attendre. — “We can wait.” moment is a masculine noun meaning “moment” or “time.” In this sentence it appears with the masculine singular indefinite article un: un moment. The article introduces a non-specified moment; it does not by itself assert a numerical count. Example: un moment important — “an important moment.” tranquille describes moment as calm or quiet. It is the singular masculine form required by this noun, although its spelling is also tranquille with a feminine singular noun. Compare: un moment tranquille — “a calm moment”; une soirée tranquille — “a calm evening.” ce soir is the fixed time expression “this evening/tonight.” ce is the masculine singular demonstrative used with soir; it identifies the relevant evening in relation to the time of speaking. It is different from ce moment, where the noun is moment but the general demonstrative pattern is the same. leur is an indirect object pronoun meaning “to them” in this sentence. It is the plural form used for a group, and it does not show the group’s gender. In French, indirect object pronouns normally come before the infinitive they belong to: leur parler = “to talk to them.” For one person, the corresponding form is lui: parler à Marie becomes lui parler. parler is the infinitive “to talk/speak.” With a person as the object, French commonly uses parler à quelqu’un (“to talk to someone”); here, leur replaces à eux or à elles. Example: Je vais leur parler demain. — “I am going to talk to them tomorrow.” The final sequence pour leur parler expresses purpose: “in order to talk to them.” Thus choisir un moment tranquille ce soir gives the chosen time, and pour leur parler gives the purpose of choosing it. Combined in the original order, Je peux choisir un moment tranquille ce soir pour leur parler. means “I can choose a calm moment this evening to talk to them.”

10. Choisir le bon moment évite généralement qu'un petit problème ne devienne personnel.

    Calm timing usually prevents a small problem from becoming personal.

    Choisir

    to choose

    bon

    good; right

    moment

    moment; time

    évite

    prevents; avoids

    généralement

    usually; generally

    qu'un

    that a

    petit

    small; little

    problème

    problem

    devienne

    become

    personnel

    personal

    More detail

    Choisir is the infinitive “to choose.” Here it functions as the subject of the sentence: “Choosing the right moment…” French commonly uses an infinitive this way. In the previous sentence, the same verb appears as choisir after peux, where the modal verb is conjugated and the following verb stays infinitive. bon means “right” or “suitable” here, not merely morally good. It agrees with the masculine singular noun moment: un bon moment. The feminine form is bonne, as in une bonne occasion (“a good opportunity”). moment means “moment” or “time.” In le bon moment, it refers to a suitable time for an action. Example: C’est le bon moment pour partir. — “It is the right time to leave.” évite comes from éviter, “to avoid” or “to prevent.” The form évite is present tense, third-person singular; its subject here is the infinitive phrase Choisir le bon moment. A reusable pattern is éviter que + clause: “to prevent … from …” généralement means “usually” or “generally.” It modifies the claim as a whole, indicating that the prevention normally happens, not in every possible case. qu’un is the contraction of que and un. After éviter que, it introduces the clause describing what is prevented. In this sentence, que is followed by un petit problème; the contraction does not by itself assert a numeric count. petit means “small” or “little.” It agrees with the masculine singular noun problème: un petit problème. The feminine singular form is petite, as in une petite difficulté (“a small difficulty”). problème means “problem.” It is masculine in French, so the adjective and other agreeing forms referring to it use masculine singular forms here. Example: Le problème reste simple. — “The problem remains simple.” devienne comes from devenir, “to become.” It is present subjunctive, third-person singular, after éviter que. The subjunctive is required by this preventive construction because the subordinate event is presented as something being prevented rather than as an independently asserted fact. The related present indicative form is devient (“becomes”): Le problème devient personnel states the development, whereas évite qu’un problème ne devienne personnel expresses preventing it. The ne before devienne is the formal, non-negative ne often used after verbs such as éviter when one event is prevented. It does not make the sentence mean that the problem does not become personal; the prevention meaning comes from éviter. personnel means “personal.” It agrees with problème, which is masculine singular. The feminine singular form is personnelle, as in une affaire personnelle (“a personal matter”). Together, Choisir le bon moment means “choosing the right time,” and it is the subject of évite. généralement adds “usually.” The construction évite qu’un petit problème ne devienne personnel means “prevents a small problem from becoming personal.” The complete utterance therefore means: “Choosing the right time usually prevents a small problem from becoming personal.”