Rescheduling safely in icy weather | Learn French in English

Sentence explanations

1. Les routes sont verglacées et la visibilité est mauvaise ce matin.

   The roads are icy, and visibility is poor this morning.

   routes

   roads

   verglacées

   icy

   visibilité

   visibility

   mauvaise

   poor

   ce matin

   this morning

   More detail

   routes means “roads” here. Its base form is the feminine noun route (“road”); routes is the plural form. In French, the final -s is usually not pronounced, so the singular and plural are often distinguished in writing or by surrounding words. Example: La route est longue. — “The road is long.” verglacées describes the roads as covered with ice or made slippery by ice. It is the feminine plural form of verglacé, agreeing with feminine plural routes. The ending -ées reflects both feminine gender and plural number; it is the adjective-like past participle, not a form of the noun. Example: Les rues sont verglacées. — “The streets are icy.” visibilité is the feminine noun “visibility,” referring here to how clearly one can see. Its base form is visibilité; it does not change for plural in this sentence because it is singular. Example: La visibilité est réduite. — “Visibility is reduced.” mauvaise means “poor” here, describing the visibility. It is the feminine singular form of the adjective mauvais (“bad” or “poor”), because it agrees with feminine singular visibilité. The masculine singular form is mauvais, while mauvaise is used with a feminine singular noun. Example: La qualité est mauvaise. — “The quality is poor.” ce matin is the time expression “this morning.” matin is a masculine singular noun, so the demonstrative is ce; together, the expression identifies the morning of the current day. Example: Je travaille ce matin. — “I am working this morning.” The utterance first states Les routes sont verglacées — “The roads are icy.” sont is the third-person plural form of être (“to be”), matching plural routes. It then adds et la visibilité est mauvaise — “and visibility is poor”: est is the third-person singular form of être, matching singular visibilité, and mauvaise agrees with that noun. Finally, ce matin places both conditions in the morning of the current day. Together: “The roads are icy, and visibility is poor this morning.”

2. Aller en voiture à la réunion semble risqué.

   Driving to the meeting sounds risky.

   Aller

   to go

   en voiture

   by car

   réunion

   meeting

   semble

   seems

   risqué

   risky

   More detail

   Aller is the infinitive of aller, “to go.” Here it begins an infinitive clause that functions as the subject: Aller en voiture means “going by car” or “to drive.” The infinitive is useful for presenting an activity generally, without marking a person or a tense. For example: Marcher est agréable. — “Walking is pleasant.” en voiture is a common way to express travel by car. en is part of this transport pattern, so the phrase means “by car,” not simply “in” plus an independently stated location. Compare en train — “by train.” la réunion means “the meeting.” The quoted word réunion is a feminine noun; its base form is réunion, and the feminine singular article in the sentence is la. The noun refers here to the meeting identified in the translation. For example: La réunion commence à neuf heures. — “The meeting starts at nine.” semble is the present-tense third-person singular form of sembler, “to seem.” It agrees with the singular subject clause Aller en voiture, not with réunion. The pattern sembler + adjective expresses an assessment: Cela semble difficile. — “That seems difficult.” risqué is a descriptive adjective meaning “risky” here. It is the masculine singular form of risqué; the feminine singular form is risquée, as in une décision risquée — “a risky decision.” In this sentence, the adjective describes the activity expressed by the infinitive clause. Together, Aller en voiture à la réunion means “going by car to the meeting.” semble risqué adds the assessment “seems risky,” giving the whole utterance: “Driving to the meeting sounds risky.”

3. Je n’aime pas changer nos plans, mais la sécurité doit passer en premier.

   I hate to reschedule, but safety should come first.

   aime

   likes

   changer

   change; reschedule

   plans

   plans

   sécurité

   safety

   doit

   must; should

   passer en premier

   come first

   More detail

   aime is the present-tense form of aimer for je: j’aime means “I like.” Here, n’aime pas is the negative pattern “does not like,” so Je n’aime pas changer... expresses that the speaker dislikes changing the plans. Example: J’aime lire. — “I like reading.” changer is the infinitive “to change.” After aimer or ne pas aimer, French commonly uses an infinitive to name the activity: J’aime voyager. — “I like travelling.” In this sentence, changer nos plans means changing the plans, understood in context as rescheduling them. plans is the plural of plan, “plan.” The possessive nos means “our,” so nos plans is “our plans.” Example: Nous devons modifier nos plans. — “We have to change our plans.” sécurité is the noun “safety.” It is feminine, as shown by la sécurité; the article identifies the noun phrase, not a quantity. Example: La sécurité est importante. — “Safety is important.” doit is the third-person singular present form of devoir. Its base form is devoir; the form agrees with the singular subject la sécurité: la sécurité doit... means “safety must/should...” In this sentence, it presents the priority as necessary or expected. Example: Elle doit partir. — “She must leave.” passer en premier is a reusable expression meaning “come first” or “be the top priority.” The verb passer is in the infinitive after doit, and en premier means “first” in this priority expression. Example: La sécurité passe en premier. — “Safety comes first.” Together, Je n’aime pas changer nos plans means “I don’t like changing our plans,” with the fixed translation naturally rendering this as “I hate to reschedule.” mais means “but” and contrasts that reluctance with la sécurité doit passer en premier, “safety should come first.” The complete utterance is therefore: “I hate to reschedule, but safety should come first.”

4. Écris-leur maintenant et explique clairement l’état des routes.

   Message them now and explain the road conditions clearly.

   Écris-leur

   Write to them

   maintenant

   now

   explique

   explain

   clairement

   clearly

   l’état

   condition

   routes

   roads

   More detail

   Écris-leur means “write to them” here. It is the second-person singular imperative of écrire (“to write”) plus leur, an indirect-object pronoun meaning “to them.” The hyphen is used with an imperative pronoun: Écris-leur ! = “Write to them!” Écrire is irregular in this form: tu écris, but the imperative is also écris. The translation identifies leur as the people being addressed by the message. maintenant means “now.” It is an adverb and does not change form. It places the writing action in the present situation. explique means “explain” here. It is the second-person singular imperative of expliquer. For regular verbs ending in -er, the singular imperative normally has the same form as the present-tense tu form without its final -s: tu expliques → explique ! Compare Explique la situation ! = “Explain the situation!” clairement means “clearly.” It is an adverb formed from the adjective clair (“clear”) and describes how the explanation should be given. clair describes a noun, while clairement describes an action: une explication claire = “a clear explanation”; expliquer clairement = “to explain clearly.” l’état means “the condition” in this sentence. The noun is état, whose useful meanings include a condition or state; here it refers to the condition of the roads. The definite article le becomes l’ before the vowel sound at the start of état: l’état. This is elision, not a separate masculine article. routes means “roads.” Its singular base form is route; routes is the plural spelling. The noun is feminine, as shown by forms such as la route and les routes, although the plural form itself does not show gender. Together, l’état des routes means “the condition of the roads.” Here des is the combination of de + les, expressing the relation “of the roads,” rather than an indefinite plural meaning. The two imperative clauses are coordinated: Écris-leur maintenant gives the instruction to write to them now, and explique clairement l’état des routes adds the instruction to explain the road conditions clearly. The complete utterance therefore means: “Message them now and explain the road conditions clearly.”

5. Est-ce que je devrais proposer de nous réunir en ligne au lieu d’annuler complètement ?

   Should I suggest meeting online instead of canceling completely?

   Est-ce que

   question marker

   je devrais

   should I

   proposer

   suggest

   nous réunir

   meet

   en ligne

   online

   au lieu d’

   instead of

   annuler

   cancel

   complètement

   completely

   More detail

   Est-ce que turns the following statement into a neutral yes/no question. It is a reusable question frame: Est-ce que + subject + verb ... ? For example, Est-ce que tu viens demain ? means “Are you coming tomorrow?” je devrais uses the first-person singular subject je with devrais, the present conditional of devoir (“to have to / must”). Here the conditional expresses “should” as advice or a contemplated course of action, not a firm obligation. The useful chain is devoir → je dois (“I must”) and je devrais (“I should”). Example: Je devrais partir tôt. — “I should leave early.” proposer is the infinitive meaning “to suggest” or “to propose.” In this sentence it introduces an action with proposer de + infinitive: proposer de faire quelque chose means “suggest doing something.” Example: Je propose de commencer maintenant. — “I suggest starting now.” nous réunir means “to meet” or “to get together” here. réunir is the base verb; with the reflexive pronoun nous before the infinitive, nous réunir means that we gather ourselves or meet. This differs from transitive réunir des personnes, “to bring people together.” Example: Nous voulons nous réunir demain. — “We want to meet tomorrow.” en ligne means “online.” It is a compact prepositional expression that can describe where an activity takes place. Example: Nous travaillons en ligne. — “We work online.” au lieu d’ is the beginning of the pattern au lieu de + infinitive, meaning “instead of doing something.” The e of de is elided before the vowel at the beginning of annuler, producing d’; this apostrophe is part of the written form. Example: Au lieu de partir, elle reste. — “Instead of leaving, she stays.” annuler is the infinitive “to cancel.” After au lieu de, the infinitive is required: au lieu d’annuler means “instead of canceling.” Example: Ils préfèrent modifier le plan plutôt que l’annuler. — “They prefer to modify the plan rather than cancel it.” complètement is an adverb meaning “completely” or “entirely.” Here it modifies annuler, so the contrast is between meeting online and canceling entirely. The adjective related to this adverb is complet / complète (“complete”); complètement is the adverbial form. Together, Est-ce que je devrais proposer asks whether the speaker should suggest something. de nous réunir en ligne identifies the suggestion: meeting online. au lieu d’annuler complètement gives the alternative being avoided: canceling entirely. The whole utterance therefore means, “Should I suggest meeting online instead of canceling completely?”

6. Cela permettrait de continuer le travail sans que personne ne se déplace.

   That would keep the work moving without anyone traveling.

   Cela

   That

   permettrait

   would allow

   continuer

   continue

   travail

   work

   sans que

   without ...

   personne

   anyone

   ne se déplace

   does not travel

   More detail

   Cela is a demonstrative pronoun meaning “that” here. In the supplied context, it points to the proposed arrangement of meeting online, rather than naming a new participant. Demonstrative pronouns can refer to an idea, situation, or thing already identifiable from context. permettrait is the conditional form of permettre (“to allow” or “to make possible”): permettre → permettrait. Here it presents the result as a possibility or consequence: “would make possible.” A useful pattern is cela permettrait de + infinitive, meaning “that would allow [someone] to …” or “that would make it possible to …”. continuer is an infinitive meaning “to continue.” After permettre de, the next verb is normally an infinitive: permettre de continuer. The phrase continuer le travail means “continue the work”; in this sentence, the intended result is that the work can keep moving forward. le travail is the noun phrase “the work.” travail is a masculine noun, and le is its definite article. The article identifies the work as known or relevant in the situation; it does not itself express a quantity. sans que introduces a subordinate clause meaning “without …” when that clause has its own subject. It is followed by a subjunctive construction here: sans que + subject + subjunctive. For example, Il est parti sans que je le voie means “He left without me seeing him.” personne means “anyone” in this negative construction, with the overall meaning “no one.” It is an indefinite pronoun referring to people. In personne ne ..., personne functions as the subject and the clause is negative. ne se déplace means “travels” or, more literally in this context, “moves from place to place.” se déplacer is the pronominal verb “to travel/move around”; its base form is se déplacer. The form déplace is present subjunctive, third-person singular, required here after sans que; personne takes singular agreement. The ne marks the negative construction with personne, so personne ne se déplace means “no one travels.” Together, Cela permettrait de continuer le travail means “That would allow the work to continue,” and sans que personne ne se déplace adds “without anyone traveling.” The complete utterance therefore means: “That would keep the work moving without anyone traveling.”

7. Je peux leur demander si participer en visioconférence leur conviendrait.

   I can ask whether joining by video would work for them.

   Je peux

   I can

   leur

   to them

   demander

   ask

   si

   whether

   participer

   join

   en visioconférence

   by video

   leur conviendrait

   would work for them

   More detail

   Je peux uses the present-tense form peux of pouvoir with an infinitive: it expresses present ability or possibility, “I can.” The subject is je, and the next verb remains in the infinitive. Example: Je peux vous aider. — “I can help you.” leur after demander is an unstressed indirect-object pronoun meaning “to them.” It refers to plural people, without marking their gender. Compare singular lui: Je peux lui demander. — “I can ask him/her.” Here it identifies the people being asked; it does not mean that they are the ones who can do something. demander is the infinitive “to ask.” After a conjugated modal such as peux, French keeps the following verb in the infinitive: Je peux demander... — “I can ask...” si introduces an embedded yes/no question here, so it means “whether,” not a condition such as “if it rains.” Example: Je demande si elle vient. — “I ask whether she is coming.” participer is an infinitive meaning “to participate” or “to take part.” In this sentence, the infinitive clause participer en visioconférence is the thing whose suitability is being considered. Example: Participer est possible. — “Taking part is possible.” en visioconférence describes the medium or mode: taking part by videoconference. The preposition en is commonly used for a way of communicating or working, as in travailler en ligne — “to work online.” The second leur is also a plural indirect-object pronoun, but its role is different: it identifies the people for whom the proposed arrangement would be suitable. convenir à quelqu’un means “to suit someone” or “to work for someone.” conviendrait is the conditional form of convenir, agreeing in person and number with the singular subject participer en visioconférence, not with leur. The useful chain is convenir — “to suit,” convient — “suits/is suitable,” conviendrait — “would suit/would work.” Example: Cette heure leur conviendrait. — “This time would work for them.” Together, Je peux leur demander means “I can ask them,” and si participer en visioconférence leur conviendrait means “whether taking part by videoconference would work for them.” The complete utterance therefore means: “I can ask whether joining by video would work for them.”

8. Propose aussi de nous rencontrer en personne quand les routes seront plus sûres.

   Offer to meet in person once the roads are safer, too.

   Propose

   offer; suggest

   aussi

   too; also

   de nous rencontrer

   to meet

   en personne

   in person

   quand

   when; once

   les routes

   the roads

   seront

   will be

   plus sûres

   safer

   More detail

   Propose is the informal singular imperative of proposer (“to propose” or “to offer”). The subject is understood as tu, so the utterance addresses one person informally. Example: Propose une solution. — “Offer a solution.” aussi means “too” or “also” here. It adds this suggestion to something already under discussion; it does not change the action itself. Example: Je viendrai aussi. — “I’ll come too.” de nous rencontrer uses de before the infinitive rencontrer, forming the pattern proposer de + infinitive: “to offer to do something.” Rencontrer means “to meet” in this context, and nous is the first-person plural pronoun involved in the meeting, matching the fixed translation’s “meet.” Example: Elle propose de nous appeler. — “She offers to call us.” en personne is a fixed expression meaning “in person,” contrasting with communicating remotely. Example: Nous parlerons en personne. — “We’ll speak in person.” quand introduces the time condition: “when” or, in this context, “once.” The clause after it says when the proposed meeting will become appropriate. Example: Je partirai quand tu seras prêt. — “I’ll leave when you are ready.” les routes means “the roads.” Route is feminine, and les marks a definite plural noun phrase: “the roads.” Example: Les routes sont ouvertes. — “The roads are open.” seront is the third-person plural future form of être (“to be”). Its plural form agrees with the plural subject les routes: les routes seront — “the roads will be.” Example: Les conditions seront meilleures. — “The conditions will be better.” plus sûres means “safer.” Sûres is the feminine plural form of the adjective sûr (“safe”); it agrees with feminine plural routes. Plus makes the comparative: sûr — “safe,” plus sûr — “safer.” Example: Ces rues sont plus sûres la nuit. — “These streets are safer at night.” Together, Propose aussi gives the informal instruction “Offer too,” and de nous rencontrer en personne specifies what to offer: meeting in person. quand les routes seront plus sûres sets the time: the meeting is to happen once the roads will be safer. The whole utterance therefore means: “Offer to meet in person once the roads are safer, too.”

9. S’ils préfèrent attendre, demain me convient aussi.

   If they would rather wait, tomorrow also works for me.

   S’ils

   if they

   préfèrent

   prefer

   attendre

   to wait

   demain

   tomorrow

   me convient

   works for me

   aussi

   also

   More detail

   S’ils combines si (“if”) with ils (“they”). The vowel of si is elided before ils; the apostrophe is part of the written form. ils is a third-person plural subject pronoun. Here it refers to the group identified by the fixed translation, while the form itself does not identify who that group is. préfèrent is the present-tense, third-person plural form of préférer (“to prefer”). The plural subject ils requires this form. In this sentence, the present tense expresses their preference in the condition; it is not a separate French conditional form. Compare: Ils préfèrent attendre. — “They prefer to wait.” attendre is the infinitive “to wait.” After préférer, French commonly uses an infinitive for the action preferred: Je préfère partir. — “I prefer to leave.” The infinitive does not show a separate subject here; its understood subject is the group expressed by ils. demain is the adverb “tomorrow.” It places the proposed time after the current day. It can also appear in another position, for example: Je viendrai demain. — “I will come tomorrow.” me convient uses convenir à in the sense “to suit” or “to be acceptable to.” convient is the third-person singular present form of convenir; me is the unstressed pronoun meaning “to me.” The thing that suits the speaker is demain, so the singular verb agrees with that singular subject, not with me. The useful pattern is X me convient — “X works for me.” For example, Cette heure me convient. — “This time works for me.” aussi means “also” and adds this option to another option already under consideration. Here it modifies the idea that tomorrow works for the speaker: tomorrow works for the speaker too. Together, S’ils préfèrent attendre forms the condition “if they prefer to wait.” demain me convient aussi says that tomorrow is acceptable to the speaker as an additional option. The complete meaning is: “If they would rather wait, tomorrow also works for me.”

10. Des options claires devraient rendre ce changement plus facile à accepter.

    Clear options should make the change easier to accept.

    options

    options

    claires

    clear

    devraient

    should

    rendre

    make

    changement

    change

    plus facile

    easier

    accepter

    accept

    More detail

    options means “options” here. It is the plural of option, a feminine noun; the plural is marked by -s, although that ending is normally not pronounced. The preceding Des is a plural indefinite article, meaning “some” or “(some) options” without stating a particular number. Example: Nous avons plusieurs options. — “We have several options.” claires means “clear” and describes options. The adjective is feminine plural here, so it has the form claire for feminine singular and claires for feminine plural. Its masculine forms are clair and clairs. In this sentence, “clear” describes the options as understandable or unambiguous, not visually bright. devraient means “should” in this sentence. It is the third-person plural conditional present of devoir: devoir → ils/elles doivent (present) → ils/elles devraient (conditional). The plural form agrees with options as the grammatical subject. The conditional form presents the expected or intended effect as a prediction or recommendation rather than a definite fact. Example: Ces mesures devraient aider. — “These measures should help.” rendre is the infinitive “to make” or “to render.” After devraient, French uses the infinitive: devraient rendre, “should make.” The construction rendre + adjective describes the result caused in something: rendre le travail plus simple means “make the work simpler.” changement means “change” here, as a noun referring to a change or alteration. It is masculine: un changement, and its plural is des changements. In ce changement, the demonstrative ce marks this masculine singular noun; the sentence itself does not specify what the change is. plus facile means “easier.” facile is the base adjective “easy,” and plus facile is its comparative form, literally “more easy.” With rendre, it describes the resulting state of ce changement: the change is made easier to accept. The adjective does not take a masculine/feminine spelling change in this form; singular or plural is shown in writing as facile / faciles. Example: Cette méthode est plus facile. — “This method is easier.” accepter means “to accept” and is an infinitive. The pattern facile à + infinitive expresses that something is easy to do: un texte facile à comprendre means “a text that is easy to understand.” Here, à accepter specifies the action for which ce changement becomes easier. Taken together, Des options claires is the subject, devraient rendre says that those options should cause a result, and ce changement plus facile à accepter identifies the result: they should make this change easier to accept. The complete meaning is: “Clear options should make the change easier to accept.”