Preparing for Changeable Weather on a Hike | Learn French in English

Sentence explanations

1. Les prévisions pour la randonnée changent sans cesse, avec du soleil et des averses possibles.

   The forecast for the hike keeps changing, with sun and possible showers.

   prévisions

   forecasts

   randonnée

   hike

   changent

   change

   sans cesse

   constantly

   soleil

   sun

   averses

   showers

   possibles

   possible

   More detail

   prévisions means “forecasts” here. It is the plural of the feminine noun prévision; the singular is une prévision, and the plural article is les. In this sentence, the forecast is treated as something that can change. randonnée is the feminine noun “hike” or “hiking trip.” In pour la randonnée, pour introduces the activity that the forecast concerns, and la agrees with this feminine singular noun. Example: La randonnée commence tôt. — “The hike starts early.” changent comes from changer, “to change.” It is the present-tense third-person plural form, agreeing with les prévisions: “the forecasts change.” The singular counterpart is change, as in La météo change. — “The weather changes.” Here the present tense describes an ongoing pattern, supported by sans cesse. sans cesse is a fixed adverbial expression meaning “constantly” or “without stopping.” It modifies changent, so les prévisions ... changent sans cesse means that the forecasts keep changing. Example: Les horaires changent sans cesse. — “The schedules keep changing.” soleil is the masculine noun “sun.” In du soleil, du is the contraction of de and le; in this weather expression it presents sun as an unspecified weather condition, not as a stated count. Example: Il y a du soleil. — “It is sunny” or literally “There is sun.” averses is the plural of the feminine noun averse, meaning “shower” in the weather sense. des averses means “showers” without specifying which ones or how many. Example: Des averses sont prévues. — “Showers are forecast.” possibles is the plural form of the adjective possible, “possible.” It agrees in number with the feminine plural noun averses; the adjective has the same written form in masculine and feminine, but adds -s in the plural: un résultat possible, des averses possibles. It expresses that the showers may occur, not that they definitely will. The whole utterance is built as Les prévisions pour la randonnée (“the forecast for the hike”) + changent sans cesse (“keep changing”) + avec du soleil et des averses possibles (“with sun and possible showers”). Thus it says: “The forecast for the hike keeps changing, with sun and possible showers.”

2. Porte plusieurs couches et apporte une veste imperméable.

   Wear layers and bring a waterproof jacket.

   Porte

   wear

   plusieurs

   several

   couches

   layers

   apporte

   bring

   veste

   jacket

   imperméable

   waterproof

   More detail

   Porte means “wear” here and is the informal singular imperative of porter (“to wear; to carry”). It addresses one person directly, with the subject tu understood rather than written. Example: Porte un chapeau. — “Wear a hat.” plusieurs means “several” and indicates more than one, without giving an exact number. It is used with a plural noun, as in plusieurs options — “several options.” couches is the plural of the feminine noun couche, “layer.” The plural form refers here to layers of clothing. Example: J’ajoute une couche. — “I’m adding a layer.” apporte means “bring” here and is the informal singular imperative of apporter (“to bring”). Like Porte, it gives a direct instruction to one person. Example: Apporte de l’eau. — “Bring some water.” veste is the feminine noun “jacket.” The phrase uses the indefinite article une before it; this introduces a non-specific jacket and does not by itself state a numerical count. Example: Cette veste est légère. — “This jacket is light.” imperméable describes the jacket as “waterproof.” It is an adjective placed after veste; in this singular phrase its form is imperméable. The adjective has the same form for masculine and feminine singular nouns, while its plural form is imperméables. Example: Des chaussures imperméables sont utiles. — “Waterproof shoes are useful.” Together, Porte plusieurs couches gives the instruction “Wear several layers.” et joins it to apporte une veste imperméable, “bring a waterproof jacket.” The whole utterance is therefore two coordinated informal singular commands addressed to one person: “Wear layers and bring a waterproof jacket.”

3. Le sentier est ouvert, mais la partie la plus haute peut être boueuse.

   The trail is open, but the higher section may be muddy.

   sentier

   trail

   ouvert

   open

   partie

   section

   plus haute

   higher

   peut être

   may be

   boueuse

   muddy

   More detail

   sentier means “trail” here. It is a masculine noun, shown by le sentier. A useful related contrast is chemin, which can also mean “path” or “way,” while sentier often suggests a narrower trail. ouvert means “open” in this sentence. It is the masculine singular form of ouvert, agreeing with masculine singular sentier. The feminine singular form is ouverte; for example, La porte est ouverte means “The door is open.” partie means “section” here. It is a feminine noun, as shown by la partie. The word can also mean a part or portion of something; the surrounding description identifies this part as a section of the trail. plus haute describes the section as higher or uppermost. haute is the feminine singular form of haut (“high”), agreeing with feminine singular partie. With la plus haute, French formally uses the superlative pattern “the highest,” although the fixed translation presents this naturally as “the higher section.” A comparative without the article would be plus haute que... (“higher than...”); for example, Cette partie est plus haute que l’autre means “This section is higher than the other one.” peut être means “may be” in this context. It combines the third-person singular present form peut of pouvoir (“can, may”) with the infinitive être (“to be”). This pattern expresses a possibility: Le sol peut être glissant means “The ground may be slippery.” boueuse means “muddy.” It is the feminine singular form of the adjective boueux, agreeing with feminine singular partie. The masculine singular form is boueux, as in un chemin boueux (“a muddy path”). The utterance first states Le sentier est ouvert (“The trail is open”). mais then introduces a qualification: la partie la plus haute identifies the upper section of that trail, and peut être boueuse says that this section may be muddy. Together: “The trail is open, but the higher section may be muddy.”

4. Nous devrions avancer lentement, surtout dans les descentes.

   We should take it slowly, especially on the downhill parts.

   Nous devrions

   we should

   avancer

   to move forward

   lentement

   slowly

   surtout

   especially

   dans

   in; on

   descentes

   downhill sections

   More detail

   Nous devrions means “we should” here. devrions is the first-person plural conditional present of devoir, whose base form is devoir. With an infinitive, devoir expresses an obligation or recommendation; the conditional makes it a suggestion rather than a direct command. The subject form nous marks “we,” and the verb agrees with this plural subject. Compare Nous devons avancer (“We must move forward”), which is more direct. avancer is an infinitive meaning “to move forward” or “to proceed.” After devoir, the following verb stays in the infinitive: Nous devrions avancer (“We should proceed”). The infinitive does not itself mark the subject here; nous is understood as the subject of both verbs. lentement is an adverb meaning “slowly.” It describes how the group should proceed. It is related to the adjective lent (“slow”); the ending -ment commonly forms an adverb from a descriptive adjective, though the exact spelling can vary with the adjective. Example: Marchez lentement. — “Walk slowly.” surtout means “especially” or “above all.” It highlights the situation that follows, rather than changing the recommendation itself. Example: Soyez surtout attentifs ici. — “Be especially attentive here.” dans is a preposition meaning “in,” “inside,” or, with a suitable place or situation, “on.” In dans les descentes, it introduces the parts of the route where the recommendation is particularly important. The choice between “in” and “on” in English depends on the noun and the natural expression in context. descentes is the plural of the feminine noun descente, meaning a descent or downhill section. In this sentence, the fixed translation supports “the downhill parts,” referring to downhill portions of the route. The plural article is les in the full phrase les descentes; dans les therefore means “in/on the downhill sections.” Example: La descente est raide. — “The descent is steep.” Together, Nous devrions avancer lentement says “We should proceed slowly,” and surtout dans les descentes specifies where extra care is advised: “especially on the downhill parts.” The complete utterance is therefore: “We should take it slowly, especially on the downhill parts.”

5. Si le temps se gâte, nous pourrons faire demi-tour au point de vue.

   If the weather turns bad, we can turn back at the viewpoint.

   Si

   if

   le temps

   the weather

   se gâte

   turns bad

   nous pourrons

   we will be able to

   faire demi-tour

   turn back

   point de vue

   viewpoint

   More detail

   Si introduces a condition: “if.” In this sentence it is followed by a present-tense clause, while the possible result uses the future. Reusable pattern: Si + present, future. Example: Si tu viens, nous partirons. — “If you come, we will leave.” le temps means “the weather” here, not “time.” The article le and noun temps form the weather expression; the surrounding verb se gâte makes the intended sense clear. se gâte is the third-person singular present form of se gâter, used here for weather becoming bad or deteriorating. The reflexive form is part of this expression: le temps se gâte means “the weather turns bad.” Example: Le temps se gâte. — “The weather is turning bad.” nous pourrons is the first-person plural future form of pouvoir (“to be able to, can”). Its subject is nous (“we”), and the future form presents the ability or option as applying under the stated condition. The useful forms are pouvoir (infinitive), nous pouvons (present: “we can”), and nous pourrons (future: “we will be able to/can”). faire demi-tour is an infinitive construction meaning “to turn back” or “to turn around and go back.” faire remains in the infinitive because it follows pourrons; the conjugated verb carries the person and future marking. Example: Nous devons faire demi-tour. — “We have to turn back.” point de vue means “viewpoint” or “viewpoint location” in this context. With the preceding au, the full location phrase is au point de vue: à + le contracts to au, giving “at the viewpoint.” The noun phrase is a location, not the object of faire demi-tour. Together, Si le temps se gâte sets the condition, nous pourrons faire demi-tour states the available action, and au point de vue specifies where it can happen. The whole utterance means: “If the weather turns bad, we can turn back at the viewpoint.”

6. Disons-le avant de commencer, pour que personne ne se sente obligé de continuer.

   Let's say that before we start, so no one feels pressured to continue.

   Disons-le

   let’s say it

   avant de

   before

   commencer

   start

   pour que

   so that

   personne

   no one

   se sente

   feels

   obligé

   obliged

   continuer

   continue

   More detail

   Disons-le means “let’s say it.” Disons is the first-person plural present form of dire used in a first-person plural imperative: the speaker proposes an action for “us.” le is the object pronoun “it,” referring here to the information or statement to be said. Compare Disons la vérité (“Let’s tell the truth”), where the noun object is stated directly. avant de introduces an earlier action and is followed by an infinitive. The reusable pattern is avant de + infinitive, meaning “before doing …”. commencer is the infinitive of commencer, “to start” or “to begin.” Thus avant de commencer means “before we start”; the subject is understood from the context rather than expressed in the infinitive. pour que introduces a purpose or intended result and is followed by the subjunctive in French. Here it means “so that.” A reusable example is Je parle lentement pour que tu comprennes (“I speak slowly so that you understand”). personne means “no one” in this negative construction. With ne, personne ne + verb means “no one …”. It is a singular indefinite pronoun referring to people in general, without identifying a particular individual; the verb is therefore singular. se sente is the third-person singular present subjunctive of se sentir, “to feel.” The reflexive pronoun se belongs to the verb, and the subjunctive is selected after pour que: pour que personne ne se sente … means “so that no one feels …”. The negative ne works together with personne around the verb phrase. obligé is the masculine singular form of the adjective meaning “obliged”; in this context, “pressured” is a natural translation. It describes the person’s state and is followed by de + infinitive for the action they feel obliged to perform. French can use obligée for feminine agreement. The observed masculine form does not by itself identify the referent’s gender; it should not be used to infer who personne refers to. continuer is the infinitive “to continue.” In obligé de continuer, de links the adjective to the action. The reusable pattern is être/se sentir obligé de + infinitive, meaning “to be/feel obliged to do …”. Example: Elle se sent obligée de répondre means “She feels obliged to reply.” Together, Disons-le proposes saying the relevant information, avant de commencer places that action before the start, and pour que personne ne se sente obligé de continuer gives its purpose. The whole utterance means: “Let’s say that before we start, so no one feels pressured to continue.”

7. Devrait-on rappeler au groupe de ne pas porter de chaussures de ville ?

   Should we remind the group not to wear casual shoes?

   Devrait-on

   should we

   rappeler

   remind

   groupe

   group

   ne pas

   not

   porter

   wear

   chaussures

   shoes

   ville

   city, in a shoe-type expression

   More detail

   Devrait-on means “should we” here. devrait is the conditional form of devoir for the third-person singular, used with on in this question to express a suggestion or deliberation. The inversion devrait-on places the subject pronoun after the verb. Compare On devrait rappeler... (“We should remind...”): the meaning is similar, but the word order is declarative rather than inverted-question order. rappeler means “to remind” in this sentence. It is an infinitive following the conjugated modal devrait; after a conjugated form of devoir, the next verb normally remains in the infinitive. Example: On devrait vérifier la liste. — “We should check the list.” In au groupe, au is the contracted form of à le, and groupe means “group.” The group is the recipient of the reminder: remind the group. Groupe is a masculine singular noun; its plural is groupes. Example: Je parle au groupe. — “I am speaking to the group.” ne pas is the standard French negation pattern around an infinitive here: “not.” With porter, it forms ne pas porter, “not to wear.” In a finite clause, the same negation surrounds the conjugated verb, as in Ils ne portent pas... (“They do not wear...”); around an infinitive, both parts come before it. porter means “to wear” here. It is an infinitive selected by devrait and preceded by ne pas. French also uses porter in other contexts, including “to carry,” so the surrounding clothing noun supplies the sense here. Example: Elle porte un manteau. — “She is wearing a coat.” chaussures means “shoes.” It is the plural of the feminine noun chaussure; the singular is une chaussure, while the plural form appears with des in des chaussures. The plural form refers to shoes rather than one shoe. Example: Ces chaussures sont confortables. — “These shoes are comfortable.” ville means “city” as a word, but in chaussures de ville it belongs to a fixed type-of-shoe expression. In standard French, chaussures de ville means “dress shoes” or “city shoes,” not “casual shoes.” The de phrase identifies the type or use of the shoes. Example: Il a acheté des chaussures de ville. — “He bought dress shoes.” Together, devrait-on rappeler au groupe asks whether the speaker and others should remind the group, while de ne pas porter de chaussures de ville gives the content of that reminder: not to wear dress shoes. The whole utterance therefore means, “Should we remind the group not to wear dress shoes?” The supplied English translation says “casual shoes,” but that does not match the usual meaning of the French phrase.

8. Demande-leur de porter des chaussures adaptées ; les sentiers boueux peuvent être glissants.

   Ask them to wear proper shoes; muddy trails can be slippery.

   Demande-leur

   ask them

   porter

   to wear

   chaussures

   shoes

   adaptées

   suitable

   sentiers

   trails

   boueux

   muddy

   peuvent être

   can be

   glissants

   slippery

   More detail

   Demande-leur means “ask them” here. Demande is the imperative singular of demander (“to ask”), used when speaking to one person. In this form, the subject “you” is understood rather than written. Leur is an indirect-object pronoun meaning “to them”; it refers to plural people, without specifying who they are. In the imperative, the pronoun follows the verb and is joined with a hyphen: Demande-leur. Porter is the infinitive “to wear.” The reusable pattern is demander à quelqu’un de + infinitive: “to ask someone to do something.” With a pronoun, this becomes demander-lui/leur de + infinitive. For example: Demande-lui de fermer la porte. — “Ask him or her to close the door.” Chaussures means “shoes.” It is the plural of the feminine noun chaussure. The phrase des chaussures refers to shoes without stating a particular number. French adjectives that describe this noun take feminine plural agreement. Adaptées means “suitable” or “appropriate” here. Its base form is the adjective adapté; adaptées is feminine plural because it describes chaussures. The ending belongs to the adjective, not to the noun. For example: des chaussures adaptées à la marche — “shoes suitable for walking.” Sentiers means “trails” or “paths.” It is the plural of the masculine noun sentier. The following description applies to these trails in the sentence. Boueux means “muddy.” Its base form is boueux, and this masculine-plural form is used with sentiers. The feminine singular is boueuse, and the feminine plural is boueuses; for example, une route boueuse means “a muddy road.” Peuvent être means “can be.” Peuvent is the third-person plural present form of pouvoir (“to be able to,” or “can”), matching the plural subject les sentiers. Être remains an infinitive after pouvoir. The construction presents slipperiness as a possible condition, not as a certainty. Glissants means “slippery.” Its base form is the adjective glissant; glissants is masculine plural because it describes sentiers. For a feminine plural noun, the corresponding form would be glissantes, as in des pierres glissantes — “slippery stones.” Together, Demande-leur de porter des chaussures adaptées says “Ask them to wear suitable shoes.” The second clause, les sentiers boueux peuvent être glissants, says “muddy trails can be slippery.” The semicolon connects the request with its practical reason: the trails may be slippery, so suitable footwear is requested.

9. Un rappel pour préparer les affaires ce soir serait utile.

   A packing reminder tonight would help.

   rappel

   reminder

   préparer

   to prepare

   affaires

   belongings or things to pack

   ce soir

   tonight

   serait

   would be

   utile

   useful

   More detail

   rappel means “reminder” here. It is a masculine singular noun; its plural is rappels. The article un introduces a reminder without itself specifying a numerical count in the English sense. Example: Un rappel est utile. — “A reminder is useful.” préparer is the infinitive “to prepare.” After pour, an infinitive can express purpose: pour préparer... means “to prepare...” or “in order to prepare...”. Here it refers to preparing the belongings, while the sentence does not identify exactly who will do that preparing. affaires is the plural of affaire. In this context, les affaires means belongings or things to pack, matching the packing sense in the fixed translation. The singular une affaire can have other meanings in other contexts, so this use should be learned from its context rather than as a literal one-to-one translation. ce soir is the time expression “tonight.” It places the preparing in the evening of the relevant day. Example: Je prépare mes affaires ce soir. — “I am preparing my things tonight.” serait is the third-person singular conditional form of être (“to be”). The base form is être; related forms include present est (“is”) and conditional serait (“would be”). Here the conditional presents the usefulness as a proposed or hypothetical assessment rather than a flat statement that the reminder is useful. It agrees with the singular subject un rappel in person and number. utile is the adjective “useful.” In this sentence it describes un rappel, so it is masculine singular. The form utile is the same in masculine and feminine singular; the plural is utiles. Example: Cette liste est utile. — “This list is useful.” Together, un rappel pour préparer les affaires ce soir means “a reminder to prepare or pack the belongings tonight.” The pattern un/une [noun] pour [infinitive] presents a noun intended for a purpose. serait utile then says that this reminder “would be useful,” producing the complete meaning: “A packing reminder tonight would help.”

10. Envoie-le assez tôt pour que tout le monde puisse se préparer.

    Send it early enough for everyone to prepare.

    Envoie-le

    Send it

    assez tôt

    early enough

    pour que

    so that

    tout le monde

    everyone

    puisse

    can / be able to

    se préparer

    prepare oneself

    More detail

    Envoie-le is the imperative of envoyer (“to send”), addressed to one person in the informal singular form. The pronoun le is attached to the affirmative imperative with a hyphen and means “it” here, matching the fixed translation. In a negative command, French places the object pronoun before the verb instead: Ne l’envoie pas (“Don’t send it”). assez tôt combines assez (“enough”) with tôt (“early”). Together they mean “early enough”: the timing is sufficient for the purpose that follows. Compare tôt (“early”) with tard (“late”). Example: Arrive assez tôt. — “Arrive early enough.” pour que introduces a purpose clause, meaning “so that.” Unlike pour followed directly by an infinitive, pour que is followed by a finite verb. Example: Je parle lentement pour que tu comprennes. — “I speak slowly so that you understand.” tout le monde is the standard French expression for “everyone.” Grammatically, it is treated as singular, so a following verb takes a third-person singular form. The word tout belongs to this fixed expression here; it does not mean that a quantity has been counted. puisse is the third-person singular present subjunctive of pouvoir (“to be able to,” “can”). The purpose construction pour que triggers the subjunctive here: pour que tout le monde puisse means “so that everyone can/is able to.” The present indicative form is peut (“can”); puisse is selected because this is a subordinate purpose clause. se préparer means “to prepare oneself” or simply “to get ready.” préparer is the verb “to prepare,” while se préparer is its reflexive form: the person getting ready is also the person affected by the action. The infinitive appears after puisse, so the reflexive pronoun remains attached to the infinitive: puisse se préparer (“can get ready”). As a whole, Envoie-le assez tôt pour que tout le monde puisse se préparer. means “Send it early enough for everyone to prepare.” The command is directed to one person; le refers to the item being sent, and the purpose of sending it early is to give everyone enough time to get ready.