Choosing a Simple Review Routine | Learn French in English

Sentence explanations

1. Je veux revoir la leçon d'aujourd'hui.

   I want to review today's lesson.

   veux

   want

   revoir

   review

   leçon

   lesson

   d'aujourd'hui

   today’s

   More detail

   veux is the first-person singular present form of vouloir, “to want.” In je veux + infinitive, it expresses the speaker’s desire or intention to do something. The form agrees with je; it is not the infinitive vouloir. Example: Je veux apprendre. — “I want to learn.” revoir is an infinitive meaning “to review” here. It can also mean “to see again” in other contexts; the intended meaning here is studying something again. Its base form is revoir, used after veux without an additional subject. Example: Je veux revoir ce film. — “I want to watch this film again.” la leçon means “the lesson.” Leçon is a feminine singular noun, and la is its feminine singular definite article. The article presents the lesson as a specific one, rather than simply any lesson. Example: La leçon est courte. — “The lesson is short.” d'aujourd'hui means “today’s” or, more literally in this phrase, “of today.” It is de before aujourd'hui, with the vowel of de omitted and an apostrophe. This phrase identifies which lesson: the lesson belonging to or associated with today. Example: le journal d'aujourd'hui — “today’s newspaper.” Together, Je veux (“I want”) and the infinitive revoir (“to review”) form “I want to review.” la leçon d'aujourd'hui specifies what the speaker wants to review: today’s lesson. The complete sentence is therefore “I want to review today’s lesson.”

2. Mais je ne sais pas par où commencer.

   But I am not sure where to start.

   Mais

   But

   sais

   know

   ne … pas

   not

   par où

   which way

   commencer

   start

   More detail

   Mais means “but” here and introduces a contrast with the preceding idea. In the supplied context, the speaker wants to review the lesson but is unsure how to begin. sais is the first-person singular present form of savoir, “to know.” The useful pattern is je sais = “I know,” while je ne sais pas = “I don’t know” or, as here, “I’m not sure.” Savoir can concern knowing a fact or knowing how or where to do something. It differs from connaître, which is generally used for familiarity with a person, place, or subject. ne ... pas is the standard written negation pattern in French. The two parts surround the conjugated verb: je ne sais pas. Here it expresses uncertainty about the starting point; it does not mean that the speaker knows nothing at all. par où asks which way or through which point an action proceeds. In par où commencer ?, it asks which point to use as the beginning. Example: Par où entrer ? = “Which way should I enter?” commencer is the infinitive meaning “to start” or “to begin.” Its base form is commencer; a present-tense form is je commence = “I start” or “I am starting.” After savoir par où, the infinitive names the action whose starting point is being sought: Je sais par où commencer = “I know where to start.” Together, je ne sais pas par où commencer means “I am not sure where to start.” Je is the subject, ne ... pas negates sais, and par où commencer identifies the starting point being sought. With Mais at the beginning, the complete utterance is: “But I am not sure where to start.”

3. Commence par les notes qui sont directement liées à des situations réelles.

   Start with the notes that connect directly to real situations.

   Commence par

   start with

   les notes

   the notes

   directement liées

   directly connected

   des situations

   situations

   réelles

   real

   More detail

   Commence par uses the second-person singular imperative of commencer (“to start”) followed by par (“with/by”). The subject tu is understood rather than stated. This is a reusable pattern: Commence par + noun or Commence par + infinitive. Example: Commence par lire. — “Start by reading.” les notes means “the notes” here. notes is the plural of note; les marks a definite plural noun phrase. Example: Je relis les notes. — “I reread the notes.” directement liées describes the notes as connected directly. liées is the feminine plural form of lié, the past participle of lier (“to connect”); it agrees with feminine plural notes. The expression être lié à means “to be connected to,” and directement is an adverb modifying that connection. Example: Ces idées sont directement liées au problème. — “These ideas are directly connected to the problem.” des situations means “real situations” only when combined with the following adjective; by itself, des situations means “situations.” situations is the plural of situation, and des is an indefinite plural article. Example: Nous discutons de situations difficiles. — “We discuss difficult situations.” réelles means “real” here. It is the feminine plural form of réel, agreeing with situations. The masculine singular form is réel; the feminine singular is réelle, and the masculine plural is réels. Example: une situation réelle — “a real situation.” Together, Commence par les notes means “Start with the notes.” The relative clause qui sont directement liées à des situations réelles identifies which notes: those that are directly connected to real situations. Thus the whole utterance means “Start with the notes that connect directly to real situations.”

4. D'habitude, je relis tout, mais cela prend trop de temps.

   I usually reread everything, but that takes too much time.

   D'habitude

   usually

   je

   I

   relis

   reread

   tout

   everything

   mais

   but

   cela

   that

   prend

   takes

   trop

   too much

   temps

   time

   More detail

   D'habitude means “usually” here. It is an adverb of frequency and can be placed at the beginning of a sentence: D'habitude, je lis le matin. — “I usually read in the morning.” je is the first-person singular subject pronoun, “I.” Before a vowel sound, it commonly becomes j’, as in j’habite (“I live”). relis is the present-tense form of relire (“to reread”) for je: je relis. The verb relire is built on lire (“to read”) with the prefix re-, which expresses doing the action again. Compare je lis (“I read”) and je relis (“I reread”). Example: Je relis le message. — “I reread the message.” tout means “everything” here and functions as a pronoun, so it stands for the complete set of things being reread. In other contexts, tout can also modify a noun, but that is a different use. Example: Je comprends tout. — “I understand everything.” mais means “but” and connects the usual action with a contrasting result or problem. cela is a demonstrative pronoun meaning “that” or “that situation.” In this sentence, the fixed translation identifies it as referring to the rereading activity just mentioned. The form cela does not itself mark a person or grammatical gender; it points to the relevant situation or idea. prend is the present-tense third-person singular form of prendre (“to take”): il/elle/cela prend. In the pattern cela prend du temps, prendre means that an activity requires or uses time, rather than physically taking an object. Example: Cela prend quelques minutes. — “That takes a few minutes.” trop means “too much” in this expression. With a noun, the reusable pattern is trop de + noun: trop de travail (“too much work”). The phrase trop de temps expresses an excessive amount of time; trop is not simply the neutral word for “much.” temps means “time” here. In trop de temps, it is an uncountable noun, so French uses de after trop: trop de temps. Example: Je n’ai pas beaucoup de temps. — “I do not have much time.” Together, D'habitude, je relis tout means “I usually reread everything.” Mais cela prend trop de temps adds the contrast: “but that takes too much time.” The complete utterance is therefore: “I usually reread everything, but that takes too much time.”

5. Choisis les parties que tu peux utiliser dans une courte conversation.

   Choose the parts you can use in a short conversation.

   Choisis

   choose

   parties

   parts

   tu peux

   you can

   utiliser

   use

   courte

   short

   conversation

   conversation

   More detail

   Choisis means “choose” here. It is the imperative of choisir addressed to one person with tu. The imperative gives a direct instruction. For a more formal or plural instruction, French uses Choisissez. parties means “parts.” It is the plural of the feminine noun partie; the singular is une partie, and the plural article is des parties. In this sentence, it refers to the parts to be selected. tu peux means “you can.” peux is the present-tense form of pouvoir used with tu; pouvoir expresses ability or possibility. The subject pronoun tu is singular and informal. Example: Tu peux venir. — “You can come.” utiliser means “to use.” It is the infinitive of utiliser, following peux: tu peux utiliser means “you can use.” After a conjugated form of pouvoir, the following verb remains in the infinitive. courte means “short.” It is the feminine singular form of the adjective court, agreeing with conversation, which is feminine singular. Compare un texte court — “a short text” — and une conversation courte — “a short conversation.” conversation means “conversation.” It is a feminine noun: une conversation; its plural is des conversations. The phrase une courte conversation means “a short conversation.” The relative word que links les parties to the description tu peux utiliser: les parties que tu peux utiliser means “the parts that you can use.” The complete structure is Choisis [les parties que tu peux utiliser] [dans une courte conversation]: “Choose the parts that you can use in a short conversation.” The imperative Choisis supplies the instruction, while the relative clause identifies which parts are meant.

6. On pourrait écrire des phrases d'exemple avant de s'entraîner à parler.

   We could write example sentences before we practice speaking.

   On pourrait

   we could

   écrire

   write

   phrases

   sentences

   exemple

   example

   avant de

   before

   s'entraîner

   practice

   parler

   speak

   More detail

   On pourrait expresses the possibility “we could” here. on is grammatically a third-person singular subject form, but French commonly uses it for an informal or general “we”; the fixed translation identifies the intended reading as “we.” pourrait is the conditional form of pouvoir for on: pouvoir = “to be able to/can,” and pourrait = “could.” The conditional presents the writing as a possible suggestion, not as something that definitely happens. écrire is the infinitive “to write.” After a conjugated form of pouvoir, the following verb normally stays in the infinitive: On pourrait écrire = “We could write.” Example: Je peux écrire une phrase. — “I can write a sentence.” phrases means “sentences.” It is the plural of phrase; the final -s marks the plural in writing, although it is generally not pronounced. Example: Je lis deux phrases. — “I am reading two sentences.” exemple means “example.” In phrases d'exemple, the singular noun exemple specifies the type of sentences: “example sentences.” The construction de + noun can link a noun with the material, purpose, or type associated with it. Example: un texte d'exemple — “an example text.” avant de means “before” when it is followed by an infinitive. Here it introduces the action that is later in time: writing example sentences comes before practicing speaking. With a different subject, French uses avant que plus a finite clause instead. Example: Lisez avant de répondre. — “Read before answering.” s'entraîner means “to practice” or “to train.” It is a pronominal verb: the infinitive includes se, which appears as s' before the vowel in entraîner. Its useful pattern is s'entraîner à + infinitive, meaning “to practice doing something.” Example: Elle s'entraîne à chanter. — “She practices singing.” parler is the infinitive “to speak” or “to talk.” In s'entraîner à parler, it names the activity being practiced. Example: Nous aimons parler français. — “We like speaking French.” Together, On pourrait écrire des phrases d'exemple means “We could write example sentences.” avant de s'entraîner à parler adds “before we practice speaking,” using avant de plus the infinitive construction s'entraîner à parler. The complete utterance therefore means: “We could write example sentences before we practice speaking.”

7. Dire les phrases d'exemple à voix haute montrera si tu peux utiliser ces expressions dans une conversation.

   Saying the example sentences aloud will show whether you can use the phrases in conversation.

   Dire

   to say; saying

   phrases

   sentences

   exemple

   example

   à voix haute

   aloud

   montrera

   will show

   si

   whether

   tu peux

   you can

   utiliser

   to use

   ces

   these

   expressions

   phrases

   conversation

   conversation

   More detail

   Dire is the infinitive “to say.” Here it functions as the subject of the sentence, so French uses the infinitive where English uses “saying.” The same pattern is reusable: Lire aide. = “Reading helps.” phrases is the plural of phrase, meaning “sentences” here. French also uses phrase for a sentence as a grammatical unit. In phrases d'exemple, d'exemple specifies the type: “example sentences.” The form d' is the shortened form of de before a vowel sound. exemple means “example.” The phrase d'exemple is a compact way to modify a noun: un exercice d'exemple can mean “an example exercise.” à voix haute is the fixed expression “aloud” or “out loud.” à voix haute describes how something is said, not what is said. Example: Lis le texte à voix haute. = “Read the text aloud.” montrera is the third-person singular future form of montrer, “to show.” The base/current/future pattern is montrer → il montre → il montrera. The future form is used because the showing is presented as a result that will occur after the saying. Its subject is the whole infinitive phrase Dire les phrases d'exemple à voix haute, which is grammatically singular. si introduces an indirect question meaning “whether” here. It does not introduce a condition in this sentence. Compare Je ne sais pas si elle vient. = “I don't know whether she is coming.” tu peux means “you can” in this context. peux is the second-person singular present form of pouvoir, “to be able to/can”; its infinitive is pouvoir, not pouvoir plus an extra ending. pouvoir is followed by an infinitive: tu peux utiliser = “you can use.” utiliser is the infinitive “to use.” After peux, it remains in the infinitive rather than being conjugated. Example: Tu peux choisir. = “You can choose.” ces is the plural demonstrative determiner “these.” It is used before a plural noun; it does not itself identify the noun's gender. The singular forms are ce before a masculine consonant sound, cet before a masculine vowel sound or silent h, and cette before a feminine noun. expressions is the plural of expression, meaning “phrases” or “expressions.” In this sentence, the fixed translation supports the meaning “the phrases” being learned and used. The plural marking is on expressions; ces also shows that the noun is plural. conversation means “conversation.” In dans une conversation, the preposition dans places the use within a conversation, while une is the singular indefinite determiner; it does not by itself assert a numerical count. Together, Dire les phrases d'exemple à voix haute means “saying the example sentences aloud.” That entire infinitive phrase is the subject of montrera, “will show.” The result is introduced by si: si tu peux utiliser ces expressions dans une conversation, “whether you can use these phrases in conversation.” The complete meaning is: “Saying the example sentences aloud will show whether you can use the phrases in conversation.”

8. Cela semble plus utile que de recopier toute la page.

   That sounds more useful than copying the whole page again.

   Cela

   that

   semble

   seems; sounds

   plus utile

   more useful

   que de

   than

   recopier

   copy out; copy again

   toute

   the whole

   page

   page

   More detail

   Cela is a demonstrative pronoun meaning “that” or “this,” used here as the subject. Its exact referent is understood from the situation rather than identified by the sentence itself. Unlike a noun, it does not show masculine or feminine agreement with a specific named referent here. semble is the present-tense form of sembler (“to seem”). The form is third-person singular, matching Cela: cela semble = “that seems.” A useful pattern is sembler + adjective, as in Cela semble simple (“That seems simple”). In this translation, “sounds” is a natural rendering of “seems.” plus utile means “more useful.” utile is the adjective, and plus marks its comparative form: utile = “useful,” plus utile = “more useful.” The comparison is completed later by que: plus utile que... = “more useful than...” For example, Cette méthode est plus utile que l’autre means “This method is more useful than the other one.” que de introduces the action placed on the other side of the comparison. In the reusable pattern plus + adjective + que de + infinitive, the infinitive names that action: C’est plus facile que de commencer seul means “It is easier than starting alone.” Here, que de works with plus utile and recopier to form “than copying”; it should not be treated as a universal translation of que de in every context. recopier is an infinitive meaning “to copy out” or “to copy again.” It names the action without marking a person or a tense. The verb itself commonly conveys copying an existing text again or reproducing it, while the infinitive form contributes no tense or person marking. For example, Je dois recopier la phrase means “I have to copy out the sentence.” toute modifies page and means “the whole” in this phrase. It is the feminine singular form of tout because page is feminine singular. Compare tout le livre (“the whole book”) with toute la page (“the whole page”): the form of tout agrees with the noun it modifies. page is a feminine noun meaning “page.” With the definite article, la page means “the page.” The noun’s feminine grammatical gender is why the phrase uses la and toute, though grammatical gender does not necessarily describe anything about the page itself. Together, Cela semble plus utile que de recopier toute la page means “That seems more useful than copying the whole page again.” The structure is Cela semble (“That seems”) + plus utile (“more useful”) + que de recopier toute la page (“than copying the whole page”).

9. Cela montre aussi quels points sont clairs et lesquels demandent plus de pratique.

   It also shows which points are clear and which ones need more practice.

   Cela

   this/that

   montre

   shows

   aussi

   also

   quels

   which

   points

   points

   clairs

   clear

   lesquels

   which ones

   demandent

   need

   plus

   more

   pratique

   practice

   More detail

   Cela is a demonstrative pronoun meaning “this” or “that.” Here it refers to the situation or result being discussed, without identifying a more specific noun. Unlike a form such as celui or celle, cela does not show masculine/feminine or singular/plural agreement. montre is the present-tense, third-person singular form of montrer, “to show.” The base form is montrer; for example, Cette image montre la différence means “This image shows the difference.” aussi means “also” and adds this statement to another relevant point. In this sentence it follows the verb: Cela montre aussi... = “It also shows...” quels points introduces the first part of an embedded question: “which points.” quels is the masculine-plural form of the interrogative determiner quel, and it agrees with the masculine-plural noun points. Compare quel point (“which point”) and quelles idées (“which ideas”). points is the plural of the masculine noun point, “point.” Here it means points or aspects under consideration, not a physical dot. The adjective clairs agrees with this noun: clair is the masculine singular base form, and clairs is masculine plural. clairs means “clear” here. The phrase quels points sont clairs literally presents the points as being clear: sont is the plural form of être because the subject is points. For example, Les objectifs sont clairs means “The objectives are clear.” lesquels means “which ones.” It is a masculine-plural independent pronoun, used here to refer back to the points without repeating the noun. Its form agrees grammatically with the plural masculine referent expressed by points; it is not itself an adjective modifying the nearby word pratique. A feminine-plural counterpart is lesquelles, as in Les options sont bonnes. Lesquelles préfères-tu ? — “The options are good. Which ones do you prefer?” demandent is the present-tense, third-person plural form of demander, “to ask for” or “to require.” In this sentence, demander means “to require/need,” and lesquels is its subject: the points require more practice. For example, Ces exercices demandent du temps means “These exercises require time.” plus means “more” in plus de pratique. The pattern plus de + noun expresses a greater amount of something: plus de temps means “more time.” The de belongs to this quantity pattern; plus itself is the word expressing “more.” pratique is the feminine noun meaning “practice” here. It is not the adjective pratique meaning “practical” or “convenient”; the construction de pratique identifies the noun use. Thus demandent plus de pratique means “need more practice,” without specifying a numeric amount. Together, quels points sont clairs and lesquels demandent plus de pratique are two coordinated parts of what Cela shows. The first identifies the points that are clear; the second uses lesquels to refer back to those points and identifies which ones need more practice. The whole utterance means: “It also shows which points are clear and which ones need more practice.”

10. Choisissons chacun quelques expressions utiles et testons-les après le cours.

    Let's each choose a few useful phrases and test them after class.

    Choisissons

    let’s choose

    chacun

    each

    expressions

    phrases

    utiles

    useful

    testons-les

    let’s test them

    cours

    class

    More detail

    Choisissons is the first-person plural imperative of choisir (“to choose”): choisissons = “let’s choose.” French uses this form to propose an action that the speaker and others will do together. Compare je choisis (“I choose”) and nous choisissons (“we choose”) in ordinary statements. chacun means “each,” presenting the members of the group individually. Here it supports the idea that everyone chooses, while the verb remains in the first-person plural because the speaker is included in the proposed action. Example: Chacun apporte un livre. — “Each person brings a book.” expressions is the plural of the feminine noun expression, meaning “phrase” or “expression.” The plural ending -s signals more than one. In this sentence it refers to useful language phrases, not to facial expressions. Example: Cette expression est utile. — “This phrase is useful.” utiles is the feminine plural form of the adjective utile (“useful”), agreeing with expressions. The adjective follows the noun here. Its comparative form is plus utile (“more useful”); the adjective itself, not the noun, carries the comparison. Example: Ces mots sont utiles. — “These words are useful.” testons-les combines testons, the first-person plural imperative of tester (“to test”), with the object pronoun les (“them”). The hyphen is required when an object pronoun follows an affirmative imperative. les refers to the phrases already mentioned, as confirmed by the fixed translation. In a statement, the placement changes: Nous les testons. — “We test them.” cours is a masculine noun meaning “class” or “course” in this context. The phrase après le cours means “after class”: après introduces the time that follows, and le is the masculine singular definite article. The noun cours has the same spelling in the singular and plural; the article or surrounding context distinguishes them. Together, Choisissons chacun quelques expressions utiles proposes that everyone choose a few useful phrases. Et testons-les après le cours adds a second joint proposal: test those phrases after class. The complete meaning is: “Let’s each choose a few useful phrases and test them after class.”

11. Une courte routine sera plus facile à répéter qu'un long plan de révision.

    A short routine will be easier to repeat than a long review plan.

    courte

    short

    routine

    routine

    sera

    will be

    plus facile

    easier

    répéter

    to repeat

    long

    long

    plan

    plan

    révision

    review

    More detail

    courte describes routine here as “short,” meaning limited in length or duration. It is the feminine singular form of court; the masculine singular form is court, while courts and courtes are plural forms. The adjective agrees with the noun it describes: une courte routine, but un court exercice. Example: Une courte pause aide à se concentrer. — “A short break helps with concentrating.” routine means a routine or regular practice. It is a feminine noun, as shown by une. Example: Cette routine est simple. — “This routine is simple.” sera is the third-person singular future form of être (“to be”): être → il/elle sera. Here it presents the routine’s being easier as a future result or expectation. Example: La tâche sera facile. — “The task will be easy.” plus facile means “easier.” Facile is the base adjective; French forms the comparative with plus: plus facile = “easier,” literally “more easy.” The adjective remains singular here because it describes singular routine; it does not take a special masculine/feminine spelling change in this form. Example: Ce chemin est plus facile. — “This path is easier.” à répéter means “to repeat.” After facile, the infinitive introduced by à identifies the action that is easy: facile à répéter = “easy to repeat.” The infinitive is répéter; it does not show a person or tense. Example: Cette phrase est facile à mémoriser. — “This sentence is easy to memorize.” long describes plan as “long.” It is the masculine singular form of the adjective long; the feminine singular is longue, and the plural forms are longs and longues. Here it agrees with masculine singular plan: un long plan. Example: un long voyage — “a long journey.” plan means “plan.” It is a masculine noun, as shown by un. Example: Le plan est clair. — “The plan is clear.” révision means “review” in the sense of reviewing study material. It is a feminine noun; its gender is visible in forms such as une révision. Example: La révision commence demain. — “The review begins tomorrow.” The sentence compares two things with plus ... que: plus facile ... qu'un long plan de révision means “easier ... than a long review plan.” qu'un is the contraction of que and un. The first noun phrase is Une courte routine, and sera plus facile à répéter says that this routine will be easier to repeat. The comparison phrase qu'un long plan de révision supplies the thing used as the comparison. Altogether: “A short routine will be easier to repeat than a long review plan.”