Taking responsibility for a damaged borrowed tool | Learn French in English

About This Lesson

Use Taking responsibility for a damaged borrowed tool to practice French conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.

Dialogue

Je dois être honnête au sujet de la scie que j’ai empruntée.

zhuh DWAH EH-truh oh-NET oh soo-ZHAY duh lah SEE kuh ZHAY ahm-prawn-TAY I need to be honest about the saw I borrowed.

Peux-tu expliquer ce qui s’est passé ?

puh-TYOO eks-plee-KAY suh kee say pah-SAY Can you explain what happened?

La lame a été endommagée pendant que je coupais du bois épais.

lah LAHM ah ay-TAY ahn-doh-mah-ZHAY pahn-DAHN kuh zhuh koo-PEH doo BWAH ay-PAY The blade got damaged while I was cutting thick wood.

Le bois était-il trop épais pour cette scie ?

luh BWAH ay-TEEL troh ay-PAY poor set SEE Was the wood too thick for that saw?

Probablement, et j’aurais dû demander avant d’essayer.

proh-bah-bluh-MAHN, ay zhoh-REH DOO duh-mahn-DAY ah-VAHN day-SAY-YAY Probably, and I should have asked before trying.

J’apprécie que tu sois franc au lieu de le cacher.

zhah-preh-SEE kuh too SWAH FRAHN oh LYUH duh luh kah-SHAY I appreciate you being upfront instead of hiding it.

Je peux organiser une réparation ou remplacer la lame.

zhuh puh or-gah-nee-ZAY oon ray-pah-rah-SYOHN oo rahm-plah-SAY lah LAHM I can arrange a repair or replace the blade.

Remplacer la lame devrait suffire.

rahm-plah-SAY lah LAHM duh-VREH soo-FEER Replacing the blade should be enough.

Je m’en occuperai aujourd’hui.

zhuh mahn noh-koo-puh-REH oh-zhoor-DWEE I will take care of that today.

Dis-moi quand la lame sera remplacée, avant de rapporter la scie.

dee-MWAH kahn lah LAHM suh-RAH rahm-plah-SAY, ah-VAHN duh rah-pawr-TAY lah SEE Tell me when it is replaced before you bring the saw back.

Word by Word

Je Je is the subject pronoun for I; here the speaker says what they themselves need to do. It normally comes before the verb in a simple statement, as in Je dois. Use it when describing your own action or responsibility.

dois With Je, dois expresses a present need or obligation: the speaker needs to be honest. It is a form of devoir and is followed here by the infinitive être in Je dois être. Use devoir + infinitive for something you need or must do.

être être means to be in être honnête, completing the obligation Je dois être honnête. It is the infinitive after dois and links the subject to the quality honnête. Use devoir + infinitive for a required state or action.

honnête honnête describes the speaker as honest in Je dois être honnête. It names the quality the speaker says they must show when discussing the damaged saw. Use être honnête when speaking truthfully about a situation.

au sujet de au is the contraction of à + le, sujet means topic or subject, and de links that topic to what follows. Together, au sujet de introduces the matter being discussed in au sujet de la scie. Use it before a noun when talking about a particular subject.

la la is the feminine singular definite article in la scie, meaning the. It introduces the specific saw already identified in the conversation. Use la before a known feminine singular noun.

scie scie means saw, the tool that was borrowed, damaged, and later returned. In la scie, it is the noun identified by the article la. Use it when referring to this cutting tool in a workshop or shared space.

que In la scie que j’ai empruntée, que links scie to the clause that identifies which saw is meant. The following clause gives information about the saw rather than starting a separate statement. Use noun + que + clause to identify a specific thing.

j’ai j’ai is Je + ai, used here as the auxiliary in j’ai empruntée. With empruntée, it refers to the earlier action of borrowing the saw. Use avoir + a past participle to describe a completed action.

empruntée empruntée describes the saw as borrowed in la scie que j’ai empruntée. Its feminine form agrees with scie, and with j’ai it completes the past form meaning I borrowed. The related infinitive is emprunter; use it for taking something temporarily with the intention of returning it.

Peux Peux expresses can or be able to in Peux-tu expliquer. It is the form used with tu, and inversion with tu makes a direct question. Use Peux-tu + infinitive to ask someone informally whether they can do something.

tu tu is the informal singular pronoun for the person being addressed in Peux-tu expliquer. It also appears in tu sois later in the dialogue. Use tu when speaking directly to one person in an informal relationship.

expliquer expliquer means to explain in Peux-tu expliquer ce qui s’est passé. It is the infinitive that follows Peux-tu and names the requested action. Use expliquer + a question or statement when asking someone to give the facts about an event.

ce In ce qui s’est passé, ce contributes the demonstrative meaning what or that which, referring to the event being discussed. It works with qui and the following verb, so the whole phrase means what happened. Use ce qui + verb when talking about what does or undergoes an action.

qui qui is the relative pronoun in ce qui s’est passé and links ce to the following verb. Here, it makes ce qui the subject of the event described as happening. Use ce qui + verb when what is the subject of the following action.

s’est In ce qui s’est passé, s’est is part of the past expression for an event happening; with passé, the whole expression means happened. It combines s’ and est and is used here to ask about a completed event. The related expression is se passer.

passé In s’est passé, passé completes the expression meaning happened, rather than simply passed. It describes the event whose details B asks A to explain. Use ce qui s’est passé to ask what happened in a situation.

lame lame means blade, the replaceable part of the saw in La lame. It is the part described as damaged and later replaced. Use it with a tool name when identifying that tool’s blade.

a In a été endommagée, a is the auxiliary that helps form the past statement about the blade. It is followed by été and endommagée, so a alone does not express the complete meaning here. Use avoir + été + a past participle for a completed passive description.

été été is the past participle of être in a été endommagée. Together with a and endommagée, it helps say that the blade was damaged. It is used here inside a passive past construction.

endommagée endommagée says that the blade was damaged in a été endommagée. Its feminine form agrees with la lame, and with a été it completes the passive description. The related infinitive is endommager; use this form when describing damage to a feminine noun.

pendant pendant introduces the time period during which another action was happening in pendant que je coupais. Here, it connects the blade’s damage with the ongoing cutting. Use pendant que + subject + verb for two actions occurring at the same time.

coupais coupais describes the speaker’s ongoing action of cutting in je coupais du bois. The form is a form of couper and shows that the cutting was in progress when the blade was damaged. Use it with pendant que when describing an action underway during another event.

du du is the contraction of de + le and gives the partitive meaning some or an amount of in du bois. It presents wood as the material being cut rather than as one individually counted object. Use du before a masculine mass noun when referring to an unspecified amount.

bois bois means wood in du bois épais, the material being cut with the saw. It is modified by épais to describe the wood’s thickness. Use du bois when talking about wood as a material in a practical task.

épais épais means thick in du bois épais. It describes the wood that may have been unsuitable for the saw. Use épais after a noun when describing the thickness of a masculine noun such as bois.

Le Le is the masculine singular definite article in Le bois, meaning the. It introduces the specific wood being discussed in the question. Use le before a known masculine singular noun.

était était means was in Le bois était-il trop épais. It describes the wood’s state or quality at that time, and the inversion with il turns the statement into a question. It is a form of être; use it to describe a past state.

il In Le bois était-il, il is the subject pronoun used after the verb to form the inverted question. It refers back to le bois and helps ask whether the wood was too thick. Use noun + verb-il to turn a statement into this type of question.

trop trop means too in trop épais, indicating that the wood exceeded the suitable thickness for the saw. It modifies the adjective épais to express an excessive degree. Use trop + adjective when something has more of a quality than is suitable.

pour pour means for in trop épais pour cette scie. Here, it marks the saw as the tool for which the wood may have been unsuitable. Use trop + adjective + pour + noun to discuss suitability.

cette cette is the feminine singular demonstrative determiner in cette scie, meaning this or that. It points to the particular saw being discussed. Use cette before a feminine singular noun when identifying a specific item.

Probablement Probablement means probably and gives an uncertain but likely answer to the question about the wood. It stands at the beginning of the reply and qualifies the speaker’s judgment. Use it when you want to acknowledge that something is likely without stating it as certain.

et et means and and links the speaker’s probable explanation with the admission that follows. Here, it connects two related parts of the same response. Use it to join two statements, actions, or ideas.

j’aurais j’aurais supplies the would-have part of j’aurais dû demander. It is the conditional form of avoir and works with dû to express what the speaker should have done earlier. Use j’aurais dû + infinitive when reflecting on an action that would have been the right choice.

dû dû is the past participle of devoir in j’aurais dû demander. With j’aurais, it expresses should have or ought to have, referring to an action that was not done. Use devoir in this construction when acknowledging a missed obligation.

demander demander means to ask in j’aurais dû demander. It is the infinitive that names the action the speaker should have taken before using the saw. Use demander before trying an unfamiliar tool when you need advice or permission.

avant avant means before in avant d’essayer and places one action earlier than another. Here, asking should have happened before trying the saw. Use it to establish the order of actions, especially before an infinitive or noun.

d’essayer d’essayer means to try in avant d’essayer. The d’ is the form of de before the infinitive essayer after avant. Use avant de + infinitive when one action should happen before another.

J’apprécie J’apprécie expresses I appreciate in J’apprécie que tu sois franc. The speaker uses it to show approval of the other person’s direct honesty about the damage. Use J’apprécie que + clause to acknowledge a helpful or considerate action.

sois sois is the form of être used with tu in que tu sois franc after J’apprécie que. It presents the addressee’s being frank as the quality being appreciated. Use this form in a que clause after an expression of appreciation such as J’apprécie que.

franc franc describes the person addressed as direct and honest in que tu sois franc. It refers to openly admitting the problem instead of concealing it. Use it when praising someone for speaking honestly about a difficult matter.

au lieu de au is the contraction of à + le, lieu means place, and de introduces the following action. Together, au lieu de means instead of in au lieu de le cacher. Use it to contrast the action that happens with an alternative action.

cacher cacher means to hide in le cacher. It names the action that the speaker says was not chosen: hiding the problem. Use cacher with the thing or information being kept from view or from another person.

organiser organiser means to arrange or organize in Je peux organiser une réparation. It is the infinitive after peux and names the proposed action of arranging repair work. Use organiser + a service or event when taking responsibility for making it happen.

une une is the feminine singular indefinite article in une réparation, meaning a. It introduces one repair without identifying a particular repair service or procedure. Use une before a singular feminine noun when referring to an unspecified item or action.

réparation réparation means repair in organiser une réparation. Here, it refers to the work that could be arranged to fix the damaged blade. Use it with organiser when offering to arrange repair work.

ou ou means or and connects the two proposed solutions in organiser une réparation ou remplacer la lame. It presents alternatives without choosing between them at that point. Use it to offer a choice between actions or options.

remplacer remplacer means to replace in remplacer la lame. It appears after peux in Je peux ... and at the beginning of Remplacer la lame devrait suffire, where the infinitive acts as the action being evaluated. Use remplacer + an object when putting a new item in place of a damaged one.

devrait devrait means should in Remplacer la lame devrait suffire. It gives a measured expectation that replacing the blade will solve the problem, rather than an absolute guarantee. It is a form of devoir followed by the infinitive suffire.

suffire suffire means to be enough in devrait suffire. It evaluates whether replacing the blade will provide all the repair needed. Use it after devrait when saying that one action is expected to solve a problem.

m’en m’en is the pair of pronouns in Je m’en occuperai: m’ belongs with the pronominal construction, and en refers back to the matter that needs attention. Together with occuperai, m’en occuperai means I will take care of it. Use it when handling a previously mentioned task or problem.

occuperai occuperai is the future form used with m’en in m’en occuperai. The complete expression means I will take care of it; occuperai alone does not carry that full meaning here. The related expression is s’occuper de, used when committing to handle a matter.

aujourd’hui aujourd’hui means today and specifies when the speaker will deal with the replacement. It places the promised action in the current day. Use it to make a same-day plan or commitment.

Dis Dis means tell in Dis-moi and is an imperative form of dire addressed to tu. It gives a direct request for information rather than describing a general ability. Use Dis-moi + information or a clause when asking someone to tell you something.

moi moi is the stressed pronoun meaning me in Dis-moi. It follows the imperative and is joined to Dis with a hyphen, identifying the person who should receive the information. Use it after an imperative when asking someone to do something for or to you.

quand quand means when and introduces the time clause quand la lame sera remplacée. It tells the listener which point in time should be reported. Use quand + clause to specify when an event happens.

sera sera is the future form of être in la lame sera remplacée. It supplies the will be part of the future passive statement about the blade. Use it before a past participle when describing what will happen to something.

remplacée remplacée means replaced in la lame sera remplacée. Its feminine form agrees with la lame, and together with sera it says that the blade will be replaced. Use it when reporting completion of a replacement involving a feminine noun.

rapporter rapporter is the infinitive after avant de in avant de rapporter la scie. Here, it means to bring the saw back or return it after the repair. Use rapporter + an object when bringing something back to a person or place.

Grammar Points

pendant que + imparfait

Pendant que je coupais le bois épais.

pahn-DAHN kuh zhuh koo-PEH luh BWAH ay-PAY

While I was cutting the thick wood.

Après « pendant que », l’imparfait décrit une action en cours dans le passé.

s’occuper de quelque chose → s’en occuper

Je m’en occuperai aujourd’hui.

zhuh mahn noh-koo-puh-REH oh-zhoor-DWEE

I will take care of it today.

« En » remplace ce qui suit « de » ; « occuperai » est le futur simple.

French Vocabulary

au sujet de prep

oh soo-ZHAY duh about; concerning

être honnête au sujet de la scie

bois noun

BWAH wood

du bois épais

couper verb

koo-PAY to cut coupais

je coupais du bois

emprunter verb

ahm-prawn-TAY to borrow empruntée

la scie que j’ai empruntée

endommager verb

ahn-doh-mah-ZHAY to damage endommagée

La lame a été endommagée

épais adj

ay-PAY thick

du bois épais

expliquer verb

eks-plee-KAY to explain

expliquer ce qui s’est passé

honnête adj

oh-NET honest

être honnête au sujet de quelque chose

lame noun

LAHM blade

la lame a été endommagée

pendant que conj

pahn-DAHN kuh while

pendant que je coupais du bois

scie noun

SEE saw

la scie que j’ai empruntée

se passer verb

suh pah-SAY to happen s’est passé

ce qui s’est passé

Quiz

Word Order

Arrange the words in the correct order.

Replacing the blade should be enough.

Show Answer

Remplacer la lame devrait suffire.

I will take care of that today.

Show Answer

Je m’en occuperai aujourd’hui.

Spelling

Tap the letters to spell the word.

to explain

Show Answer

expliquer

saw

Show Answer

scie

to borrow

Show Answer

empruntée

to damage

Show Answer

endommagée