Exercise Safely on a Day with Poor Air Quality | Learn French in English

Sentence explanations

1. L’air semble lourd aujourd’hui et la qualité de l’air pourrait être mauvaise.

   The air feels heavy today, and air quality may be poor.

   L’air

   the air

   semble

   seems

   lourd

   heavy

   aujourd’hui

   today

   la qualité

   the quality

   de l’air

   of the air

   pourrait

   might; could

   être

   be

   mauvaise

   poor; bad

   More detail

   L’air means “the air” here. air is a masculine singular noun; the definite article le is shortened to l’ before a vowel sound. The apostrophe is part of the written form: le air is not used. Example: L’air est frais. — “The air is cool.” semble comes from sembler, “to seem” or “to appear.” It is the present-tense third-person singular form, agreeing with L’air. A useful pattern is sembler + adjective: Elle semble fatiguée. — “She seems tired.” lourd means “heavy” in this sentence and is the masculine singular form of the adjective. It agrees with masculine singular air. The feminine singular form is lourde, as in une valise lourde — “a heavy suitcase.” Here, semble lourd presents heaviness as an impression rather than a direct statement that the air has physical weight in the ordinary sense. aujourd’hui means “today.” It identifies the time of the impression described in the first part. Example: Aujourd’hui, le ciel est clair. — “Today, the sky is clear.” la qualité means “the quality.” qualité is a feminine singular noun, so it takes the feminine definite article la. Example: La qualité est importante. — “Quality is important.” de l’air means “of the air.” It links the noun qualité to what is being evaluated: the quality belonging to or concerning the air. In de l’air, de is followed by the elided definite article l’ before air; this is not the same as an indefinite quantity. Example: la qualité de l’eau — “the quality of the water.” pourrait comes from pouvoir, “to be able to” or, in this use, “may/might.” It is the conditional present, third-person singular form. With an infinitive, pourrait être expresses a possibility: “may be” or “might be.” Example: Le résultat pourrait changer. — “The result might change.” être means “to be.” It remains in the infinitive after the conjugated modal pourrait; French does not put the second verb into a second finite tense in this pattern. Example: Cela pourrait être utile. — “That could be useful.” mauvaise means “poor” or “bad” here, describing qualité. It is the feminine singular form of mauvais, because qualité is feminine singular. The masculine singular form is mauvais, while the feminine singular form used here is mauvaise; the adjective agrees with the noun it describes, not with the nearby noun air. Together, L’air semble lourd aujourd’hui says “The air feels/seems heavy today.” Then la qualité de l’air pourrait être mauvaise says “air quality may be poor.” The conjunction et connects these two propositions, giving the complete meaning: “The air feels heavy today, and air quality may be poor.”

2. Dans ce cas, faire de l’exercice dehors n’est peut-être pas une bonne idée.

   Outdoor exercise might not be a good idea, then.

   Dans ce cas

   in that case; then

   faire de l’exercice

   to exercise

   dehors

   outdoors

   n’est peut-être pas

   may not be

   bonne

   good

   idée

   idea

   More detail

   Dans ce cas means “in that case” and can also be rendered as “then” when it draws a conclusion from what was just said. cas is a masculine noun; the demonstrative ce agrees with it. The expression is reusable before a conclusion: Dans ce cas, je reste ici. — “In that case, I’m staying here.” faire de l’exercice is a common French expression meaning “to exercise.” Its central verb is the infinitive faire, “to do/make”; here the infinitive is used as the subject of the sentence. The form de l’exercice is the expression’s usual noun phrase, with de l’ before the vowel-initial noun exercice. For example, Faire de l’exercice est important. means “Exercising is important.” dehors means “outdoors” or “outside.” It is an adverb, so it does not change to agree with a noun. Here it specifies where the exercising would take place. For example, Je mange dehors. means “I eat outside.” n’est peut-être pas combines n’... pas, the French negation around the conjugated verb, with peut-être, “perhaps/maybe.” The conjugated form is est, the third-person singular present of être, “to be”; its subject is the infinitive phrase faire de l’exercice. Because peut-être expresses uncertainty, the sentence says that the idea may not be good, rather than stating definite certainty. In a positive version, C’est peut-être une bonne idée. means “It may be a good idea.” bonne is the feminine singular form of the adjective bon, “good.” It agrees with the feminine singular noun idée; the adjective itself carries the gender and number marking here. The basic comparison is bon / meilleur / le meilleur — “good” / “better” / “the best” — though the comparative form is not used in this sentence. For example, une bonne réponse means “a good answer.” idée is a feminine noun meaning “idea.” The phrase une bonne idée means “a good idea”; une is an indefinite article, not by itself a claim about a numerical count. A useful contrast is une mauvaise idée, “a bad idea.” Taken together, faire de l’exercice dehors is the activity “exercising outdoors.” n’est peut-être pas une bonne idée says that this activity may not be a good idea. With Dans ce cas connecting it to the preceding situation, the whole utterance means: “In that case, exercising outdoors might not be a good idea.”

3. Je comptais courir dans le parc.

   I was planning to run in the park.

   Je

   I

   comptais

   was planning

   courir

   to run

   dans

   in

   parc

   park

   More detail

   Je means “I.” It is the first-person singular subject pronoun, used for the speaker. It does not change according to the speaker’s gender. Example: Je lis. — “I am reading.” comptais is the imperfect form of compter for je. In this sentence, compter means “to intend” or “to plan,” not “to count.” The useful pattern is compter + infinitive: Je comptais partir. — “I was planning to leave.” The imperfect presents that plan as a past intention; it does not by itself say whether the plan was carried out. courir is the infinitive “to run.” After comptais, it names the planned action: compter courir — “to plan to run.” The infinitive stays unchanged for the subject in this construction. Example: Nous comptons marcher. — “We plan to walk.” dans means “in” here and introduces the place containing the planned activity. It is also commonly used for “into” when movement toward an interior is meant, so the exact English translation depends on the surrounding verb and meaning. parc is the noun “park.” In the utterance, le parc means “the park”; parc is masculine, which is why this noun takes le in this phrase. A useful contrast is un parc — “a park” and des parcs — “parks.” Together, Je comptais expresses a past plan, courir supplies the planned action, and dans le parc gives its location. The whole utterance therefore means “I was planning to run in the park.”

4. Si la pollution vous gêne, choisissez plutôt un entraînement en intérieur.

   If pollution bothers you, choose an indoor workout instead.

   Si

   if

   pollution

   pollution

   gêne

   bothers

   choisissez

   choose

   plutôt

   instead; rather

   entraînement

   workout; training

   en intérieur

   indoors

   More detail

   Si introduces a condition: “if …”. A reusable pattern is Si + present-tense clause, ... for a condition linked to a result or suggestion. In this sentence, the condition is stated before the suggested action. pollution is a feminine noun meaning pollution. Its gender matters for forms that agree with it, such as la pollution, but the noun itself does not change here. Example: La pollution augmente. — “Pollution is increasing.” gêne is the third-person singular present form of gêner, “to bother” or “to cause discomfort.” The base form is gêner; gêne agrees with the singular subject la pollution. In la pollution vous gêne, vous is the person affected, while la pollution is what causes the discomfort. Example: Le bruit me gêne. — “The noise bothers me.” choisissez is the imperative form of choisir for vous: it can address several people or one person formally. The base form is choisir. The imperative makes this a recommendation or instruction rather than a statement about what someone already chooses. Example: Choisissez une autre option. — “Choose another option.” plutôt means “rather” or “instead” and adjusts the recommendation toward the alternative being proposed. Here it marks the indoor workout as the preferable alternative in the stated situation. Example: Prenez plutôt le bus. — “Take the bus instead.” entraînement is a masculine noun meaning a workout or training session. Its useful article pattern is un entraînement; the plural is des entraînements. In this sentence it refers to the activity to choose, not to a particular named workout. Example: Cet entraînement est court. — “This workout is short.” en intérieur means indoors, or in an indoor setting. It describes where the workout takes place. The preposition en is part of this location expression; it is not the noun’s article. Example: Nous mangeons en intérieur. — “We are eating indoors.” Together, Si la pollution vous gêne means “If pollution bothers you.” The subject of gêne is la pollution, and vous identifies the person affected. choisissez plutôt un entraînement en intérieur then gives the recommendation: “choose an indoor workout instead.” The whole utterance is therefore: “If pollution bothers you, choose an indoor workout instead.”

5. Je pourrais aller à la salle de sport, même si c’est moins relaxant que le parc.

   I could use the gym, although it feels less relaxing than the park.

   Je pourrais

   I could

   aller

   go

   salle de sport

   gym

   même si

   although

   c’est

   it is

   moins relaxant

   less relaxing

   parc

   park

   More detail

   Je pourrais expresses a possible action: “I could.” Pourrais is the first-person singular present conditional of pouvoir (“can/be able to”). The conditional presents the possibility rather than stating that the action happens. For example: Je pourrais venir demain. — “I could come tomorrow.” aller means “to go.” It is an infinitive because it follows the modal verb pouvoir: Je pourrais aller... — “I could go...” The useful pattern is pouvoir in a conjugated form + infinitive. For example: Elle peut rester. — “She can stay.” salle de sport names a gym or sports facility. In the utterance it appears with the preceding preposition and article as à la salle de sport: “to the gym.” Salle is a feminine noun, which is why the article is la; sport specifies the type of room or facility. For example: Je vais à la salle de sport. — “I am going to the gym.” même si introduces a condition or circumstance that does not prevent the main statement: “even if” or, in this translation, “although.” It is a conjunction; the following clause is c’est moins relaxant que le parc. For example: Je sortirai même s’il pleut. — “I will go out even if it rains.” c’est is the contraction of ce and est (être): “it is.” Here ce presents the situation as less relaxing, without identifying a separate noun as its referent. The form est is third-person singular present of être; before a vowel, ce becomes c’. moins relaxant means “less relaxing.” Relaxant is the adjective, with the base form relaxant; moins ... que is the comparative pattern for a lower degree. In c’est moins relaxant, the adjective is in its masculine singular form with the ce construction. For example: Ce chemin est moins relaxant que le jardin. — “This path is less relaxing than the garden.” parc means “park.” It is a masculine noun, so the complete comparison uses le parc: “the park.” The phrase que le parc supplies the reference point after the comparative: less relaxing than the park. Together, Je pourrais aller à la salle de sport says “I could go to/use the gym.” même si links that possibility to a contrasting circumstance. c’est moins relaxant que le parc says that this option is less relaxing than the park. The complete meaning is: “I could use the gym, although it feels less relaxing than the park.”

6. S’entraîner à l’intérieur est plus sain que de respirer un air pollué.

   Training indoors is healthier than breathing poor air.

   S’entraîner

   to train

   à l’intérieur

   indoors

   plus sain

   healthier

   respirer

   to breathe

   air

   air

   pollué

   polluted

   More detail

   S’entraîner means “to train” here. The form is the infinitive of the pronominal verb s’entraîner; s’ is the elided form of se before a vowel. The infinitive presents the activity as a general topic rather than marking a particular person or time. Example: J’aime m’entraîner. — “I like training.” à l’intérieur means “indoors” or “inside.” à introduces the location, and l’intérieur means “the inside/interior”; the article le is elided to l’ before a vowel. This is a reusable location pattern: à l’intérieur contrasts with à l’extérieur (“outdoors”). plus sain means “healthier.” sain is the adjective meaning “healthy,” and plus forms its comparative: plus sain = “healthier.” In this sentence, the masculine singular form sain agrees with the infinitive activity s’entraîner, treated here as a masculine singular subject. The comparison is completed by que: X est plus sain que Y — “X is healthier than Y.” respirer means “to breathe.” It is another infinitive, introduced in the comparison by de: plus sain que de respirer... means “healthier than breathing...” The de before an infinitive is a common way to compare one activity with another. Example: Marcher est plus agréable que courir. — “Walking is more pleasant than running.” air means “air.” It is a masculine singular noun: un air. Here it refers to the air being breathed, not to a person’s appearance or manner, which can also be expressed by air in other contexts. The article un marks an indefinite noun phrase; it does not by itself assert a numerical count of the air. pollué means “polluted.” It is the past participle of polluer, used here as an adjective after air. It agrees with the masculine singular noun air, so the form is pollué; with a feminine singular noun, the adjective would be polluée. Example: L’eau est polluée. — “The water is polluted.” The sentence is built as S’entraîner à l’intérieur + est plus sain + que de respirer un air pollué. The first infinitive phrase is the subject: “training indoors.” est plus sain says that this activity is healthier, and que de respirer un air pollué supplies the activity used for comparison: “than breathing polluted air.” Together, the fixed utterance means “Training indoors is healthier than breathing poor air.”

7. Est-ce que je devrais porter un masque si je dois marcher dehors ?

   Should I wear a mask if I need to walk outside?

   Est-ce que

   question opener

   je devrais

   should I

   porter

   to wear

   un masque

   a mask

   si

   if

   je dois

   I need to

   marcher

   to walk

   dehors

   outside

   More detail

   Est-ce que is a fixed, reusable way to turn a statement into a neutral yes/no question. It does not itself mean “should”; the question’s meaning comes from the rest of the sentence. For example: Est-ce que tu viens ? means “Are you coming?” je devrais is the first-person singular conditional form of devoir, “to have to” or “must.” Here, the conditional gives the advice-oriented meaning “should I,” rather than a firm present obligation. Useful forms include je dois (“I must / I have to”) and je devrais (“I should”). For example: Je devrais partir. means “I should leave.” porter is the infinitive meaning “to wear” here. It follows devrais: French uses the infinitive after this conjugated form of devoir, so the subject is stated only once in je devrais porter. Porter can also mean “to carry” in other contexts; the mask identifies the “wear” sense here. un masque means “a mask.” Masque is a masculine noun, which is why the singular indefinite article is un. The article marks an unspecified mask; it does not by itself state a numerical count as a teaching point. si introduces the condition “if.” It connects the possible advice question to the situation that follows. For example: Je sortirai si tu viens. means “I will go out if you come.” je dois is the first-person singular present form of devoir. In this sentence, it expresses the condition “I need to” or “I have to,” and it is followed by the infinitive marcher. Compare it with je devrais, which expresses advice or an appropriate choice rather than the direct present obligation in je dois. marcher is the infinitive “to walk.” After je dois, it forms je dois marcher, “I need to walk.” For example: Je dois marcher lentement. means “I need to walk slowly.” dehors is an adverb meaning “outside” or “outdoors.” It specifies where the walking takes place. It is not an inflected form of marcher, and it does not need to agree with a noun. Together, Est-ce que je devrais porter un masque asks, “Should I wear a mask?” The conditional devrais expresses the advice being requested, while porter un masque supplies the action. si je dois marcher dehors adds the condition “if I need to walk outside.” The complete utterance therefore means: “Should I wear a mask if I need to walk outside?”

8. Un masque peut aider, et les conseils de santé locaux peuvent recommander des précautions supplémentaires.

   A mask can help, and local health advice may suggest extra precautions.

   masque

   mask

   peut

   can; may

   aider

   to help

   conseils

   advice

   santé

   health

   locaux

   local

   peuvent

   can; may

   recommander

   to recommend

   précautions

   precautions

   supplémentaires

   additional; extra

   More detail

   masque means “mask” here. It is a masculine noun: un masque is the singular form, while des masques is plural. The source uses Un masque as the subject of the first clause; the article introduces one unspecified mask, without itself expressing a precise count. peut is a form of pouvoir, “can” or “may.” It is third-person singular present, agreeing with un masque: il/elle peut. The useful contrast is peuvent, the third-person plural form used later with les conseils. pouvoir is followed here by an infinitive: peut aider = “can help.” aider is the infinitive “to help.” After a conjugated form of pouvoir, French keeps the next verb in the infinitive: peut aider. Example: Cette mesure peut aider. — “This measure can help.” conseils means “advice” here. It is the plural of the masculine noun conseil; French commonly uses the plural des conseils for pieces or kinds of advice. The source uses les conseils, referring to local health advice in a general definite way. Conseil can also mean a piece of advice in other contexts, but the intended meaning here is advice. santé means “health.” In conseils de santé, de santé specifies the subject or domain of the advice: “health advice.” The noun is feminine, as shown by la santé, although this does not affect the form of the following adjective locaux, which agrees with conseils. locaux means “local” in this sentence. It is the masculine plural form of local, agreeing with masculine plural conseils: un conseil local, des conseils locaux. The feminine forms are locale and locales, as in une recommandation locale and des recommandations locales. peuvent is the third-person plural present form of pouvoir, “can” or “may.” It agrees with the plural subject les conseils: les conseils peuvent. Compare peut with a singular subject and peuvent with a plural subject. As with peut, it is followed by an infinitive here: peuvent recommander. recommander is the infinitive “to recommend” or “to suggest.” After peuvent, it remains unchanged: peuvent recommander. Example: Les experts peuvent recommander une pause. — “Experts may recommend a break.” précautions means “precautions.” It is the plural of the feminine noun précaution; the singular is une précaution, and the plural is des précautions. In recommander des précautions, it is the thing being recommended. supplémentaires means “additional” or “extra.” It is the feminine plural form of supplémentaire, agreeing with précautions: une précaution supplémentaire, des précautions supplémentaires. This adjective has the same spelling for masculine and feminine singular, and supplémentaires marks plural number. Together, Un masque peut aider says “A mask can help.” The conjunction et links this with les conseils de santé locaux peuvent recommander des précautions supplémentaires: “local health advice may suggest extra precautions.” The two clauses have different subjects—un masque and les conseils de santé locaux—and peut versus peuvent reflects their singular and plural forms. The complete utterance is therefore: “A mask can help, and local health advice may suggest extra precautions.”

9. Reporter la course jusqu’à ce que l’air s’améliore semble plus sûr.

   Postponing the run until the air improves seems safer.

   Reporter

   to postpone

   la course

   the run

   jusqu’à ce que

   until

   l’air

   the air

   s’améliore

   improves

   semble

   seems

   plus sûr

   safer

   More detail

   Reporter is the infinitive of reporter, “to postpone” or “to put off.” Here it acts as the subject of semble: the action being evaluated is postponing the run. A reusable pattern is reporter + noun, as in Reporter le voyage est prudent. — “Postponing the trip is sensible.” la course means “the run” here. Course is a feminine noun, so it takes the feminine singular article la; its plural is les courses. The phrase refers to the running activity in the fixed sentence, not to a race as a competition necessarily. jusqu’à ce que introduces the point up to which something continues: “until.” à is written à here, and the following ce que completes this conjunction. In standard French, jusqu’à ce que is followed by the subjunctive because the endpoint is presented as something not yet achieved or simply anticipated. Example: Attends jusqu’à ce qu’il arrive. — “Wait until he arrives.” l’air means “the air.” Air is a masculine noun, but the singular article le becomes l’ before the vowel sound at the beginning of air; this is elision, not a different gender. The plural is les airs, though the meaning can change with context. s’améliore is the third-person singular present subjunctive form of the pronominal verb s’améliorer, “to improve” or “to get better.” The pronoun s’ belongs to the verb and reflects the subject l’air; it is not a separate object meaning “it” in this sentence. The subjunctive form is required here after jusqu’à ce que: jusqu’à ce que l’air s’améliore, “until the air improves.” Compare the ordinary present l’air s’améliore — “the air is improving” — without jusqu’à ce que. semble is the third-person singular present form of sembler, “to seem.” The subject is the preceding infinitive phrase Reporter la course jusqu’à ce que l’air s’améliore, so the sentence says that this whole action seems safer. A useful pattern is X semble + adjective, as in Cette solution semble simple. — “This solution seems simple.” plus sûr means “safer.” Sûr is the adjective meaning “safe”; plus sûr is its comparative form, literally “more safe,” normally translated “safer.” The adjective is masculine singular in the observed form: feminine singular is plus sûre, and plural forms are plus sûrs and plus sûres when agreement requires them. Here it evaluates the postponement described by the preceding infinitive phrase. Together, Reporter la course gives “postponing the run.” jusqu’à ce que l’air s’améliore limits that postponement to the time when the air improves. The complete infinitive phrase is the subject of semble, and plus sûr gives the evaluation: “Postponing the run until the air improves seems safer.”

10. Cela évite que l’exercice ne devienne un autre problème de santé.

    That keeps exercise from turning into another health problem.

    Cela

    That

    évite que

    prevents ... from

    l’exercice

    exercise

    devienne

    becomes

    autre

    another

    problème

    problem

    santé

    health

    More detail

    Cela means “that” and functions as a demonstrative pronoun. The supplied translation confirms that it is the subject presented as having the preventive effect, but the fixed material does not identify a more specific referent. In other contexts, cela can be contrasted with ceci; here it is the subject. évite que introduces what is prevented. The reusable pattern is éviter que + clause: “prevent/keep … from …”. The subject of évite is cela, so évite is the third-person singular present form of éviter. The following clause has its own subject, l’exercice. l’exercice is the noun exercice with the singular definite article l’, used before a vowel sound. Here the noun means “exercise” as an activity. The definite article presents this activity as the relevant subject of the clause; this does not by itself specify a particular exercise session. devienne is a form of devenir, “to become”. After éviter que, French uses the subjunctive in this construction: évite que l’exercice ne devienne.... devienne is the present subjunctive, third-person singular form, matching l’exercice; it is not an infinitive. The ne before it is expletive or pleonastic ne, which can appear after expressions of prevention and does not make this clause negative here. Thus ne devienne expresses “becomes/turns into” in the intended meaning. autre means “another” or “a different additional one”. It is singular here and modifies problème; its form is the same in the singular masculine and feminine, while the plural is autres. In this sentence, “another” signals an additional health problem; the word itself does not assert a numerical count. problème means “problem”. It is a masculine singular noun, and its plural is problèmes. In a pattern such as devenir un problème, the noun after devenir identifies what the subject becomes; here it is modified by autre. santé means “health”. In un problème de santé, de santé specifies the type or domain of the problem: “a health problem”. The noun is feminine, but no gender agreement is visible in this prepositional phrase. Putting the parts together, Cela évite que presents a preventive effect, l’exercice is the subject of the following clause, and ne devienne un autre problème de santé says that exercise does not turn into an additional health problem. The whole utterance therefore means: “That keeps exercise from turning into another health problem.”