Solving a plant care problem | Learn French in English

French lesson set in a contemporary Paris everyday setting: At home, two adults troubleshoot a wilting plant by checking watering, drainage, light, and repotting..

EN → FR / Level: B1

About This Lesson

Use Solving a plant care problem to practice French conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.

Dialogue

A

Ma plante se fane, même si je l'arrose souvent.

mah PLAHNT suh FAHN, MEM see zhuh lah-ROHZ soo-VAHN. My plant is wilting, even though I water it often.
B

Elle a peut-être trop d'eau plutôt que pas assez.

ell ah puh-TEHTR troh-DOH plew-TOH kuh pah ah-SAY. It may have too much water rather than too little.
A

Je pensais que plus d'eau l'aiderait à se remettre.

zhuh pahn-SAY kuh plewz-DOH leh-DREH ah suh ruh-METR. I thought more water would help it recover.
B

Vérifie le drainage et laisse un peu sécher la terre.

veh-ree-FEE luh dreh-NAHZH ay LESS uhn puh say-SHAY lah TEHR. Check the drainage and let the soil dry a little.
A

Le pot n'a pas de trou au fond, ce qui est peut-être le problème.

luh poh nah pah duh TROO oh FOHN, suh kee ay puh-TEHTR luh proh-BLEM. The pot has no hole at the bottom, which may be the problem.
B

Les racines peuvent souffrir quand l'eau n'a nulle part où s'échapper.

lay rah-SEEN puhV soo-FREER kahn loh nah NEWL PAHR oo say-shah-PAY. Roots can suffer when water has nowhere to escape.
A

Est-ce que je devrais aussi la rapprocher de la fenêtre ?

ess kuh zhuh duh-VRAY oh-SEE lah rah-proh-SHAY duh lah fuh-NETR? Should I move it closer to the window too?
B

Essaie de ne changer qu'une chose à la fois pour voir ce qui l'aide.

eh-SAY duh nuh SHAHN-ZHAY KEWN SHOHZ ah lah FWAH poor VWAHR suh kee LED. Try changing one thing at a time so you can tell what helps.
A

Alors, je vais la rempoter et moins l'arroser cette semaine.

ah-LOR zhuh VAY lah rahm-poh-TAY ay MWAN lah-ROH-ZAY set suh-MEN. Then I will repot it and water it less this week.
B

S'occuper des plantes, c'est surtout observer et faire de petits ajustements.

soh-koo-PAY day PLAHNT, say soo-TOO ohb-sair-VAY ay FEHR duh puh-TEE-tah-zhoos-tuh-MAHN. Plant care is mostly observation and small adjustments.

Word by Word

Ma Ma means “my” in Ma plante, identifying the speaker’s plant. It is used before the owned noun in this expression.
plante Plante means “plant” in Ma plante, the living thing being discussed. It can be used after a possessive form such as Ma.
se Se is the reflexive pronoun in se fane and se remettre; it is part of the verb expressions describing the plant wilting and recovering. It is used together with the verb rather than as a separate English word.
fane Fane means “wilts” in Ma plante se fane. It is the dialogue form of faner and describes the plant’s condition.
même Même means “even” in même si je l’arrose souvent. Together with si, it introduces a fact that contrasts with the main statement.
si Si means “though” in même si je l’arrose souvent. The expression même si introduces a condition or fact that does not change the result.
je Je means “I” in je l’arrose souvent, Je pensais, and je vais la rempoter. It is placed before the verb when the speaker refers to themself.
l'arrose L’arrose means “water it” in je l’arrose souvent; l’ refers to the plant and arrose is a form of arroser. The object pronoun is attached before the vowel-starting verb form.
souvent Souvent means “often” in je l’arrose souvent, describing how frequently the plant is watered. It commonly follows the verb or verb phrase it modifies.
Elle Elle means “it” here in Elle a peut-être trop d’eau, referring back to the plant. The same pronoun can refer to a female person in another context.
a A means “has” in Elle a peut-être trop d’eau. It is a form of avoir and is followed here by what the plant is understood to have.
peut-être Peut-être means “maybe” in Elle a peut-être trop d’eau, showing that the speaker is suggesting a possibility. It can be placed around the verb phrase to express uncertainty.
trop Trop means “too much” in trop d’eau, expressing an excessive amount of water. It appears before the quantity being described.
d'eau D’eau means “of water” in trop d’eau and identifies the substance involved. The d’ is the shortened form of de before eau.
plutôt Plutôt means “rather” in plutôt que pas assez, directing the comparison toward one possibility instead of another. The reusable pattern is plutôt que followed by the alternative.
que Que means “than” in plutôt que pas assez. Here it links trop d’eau with the alternative pas assez.
pas Pas means “not” in pas assez. Together, pas assez means “not enough,” so pas does not carry the complete meaning by itself here.
assez Assez means “enough” in pas assez, referring to the amount of water. The expression pas assez means that the amount is insufficient.
pensais Pensais means “thought” in Je pensais que plus d’eau l’aiderait à se remettre. It is the dialogue form of penser and introduces the speaker’s earlier belief.
plus Plus means “more” in plus d’eau, referring to a greater amount of water. It is placed before d’eau to compare the amount with the water already given.
l'aiderait L’aiderait means “would help it” in plus d’eau l’aiderait à se remettre; l’ refers to the plant and aiderait is a form of aider. The phrase expresses the expected effect of giving more water.
à À in l’aiderait à se remettre links helping with the action of recovering. The reusable pattern is aider someone à + an infinitive action.
remettre Remettre means “recover” or “get better” in se remettre. The full expression se remettre describes returning to a better condition.
Vérifie Vérifie means “check” in Vérifie le drainage and gives a direct instruction. It is the dialogue form of vérifier and is followed by the thing to be checked.
le Le means “the” before drainage in le drainage and pot in Le pot. The capital Le at the beginning of the sentence is the same word with sentence capitalization.
drainage Drainage means “drainage” in Vérifie le drainage, referring to the way excess water leaves the pot. It follows the article le in this expression.
et Et means “and” in Vérifie le drainage et laisse un peu sécher la terre. It connects two instructions in the same sentence.
laisse Laisse means “let” in laisse un peu sécher la terre, telling the listener to allow the soil to dry. It is the dialogue form of laisser and is followed here by the infinitive sécher.
un Un contributes to the expression un peu, meaning “a little” in un peu sécher la terre. It appears directly before peu to form this small-amount expression.
peu Peu means “a little” in un peu sécher la terre, limiting the amount of drying. The full expression un peu means a small amount.
sécher Sécher means “dry” in laisse un peu sécher la terre. With laisse, it names the action that the soil is allowed to undergo.
la La means “the” in la terre and “it” in la rapprocher, where it refers to the plant. Its role depends on the phrase: it is an article before terre and an object pronoun before rapprocher.
terre Terre means “soil” in laisse un peu sécher la terre. It is the material that is allowed to dry.
pot Pot means “pot” in Le pot n’a pas de trou au fond. It identifies the container whose drainage is being examined.
n'a N’a means “does not have” in n’a pas de trou, stating that the pot lacks a hole. It works together with pas and de trou to express the absence.
de De in n’a pas de trou marks what is absent, giving the meaning “no hole” in the full phrase. Here it belongs to n’a pas de trou rather than expressing “to.”
trou Trou means “hole” in n’a pas de trou. It identifies the missing opening at the bottom of the pot.
au Au means “at the” or “in the” in au fond. It is the contraction of à and le and forms the location expression au fond.
fond Fond means “bottom” in au fond, locating the hole at the bottom of the pot. The phrase au fond is used to describe this position.
ce Ce in ce qui refers to the preceding fact that the pot has no hole. Together, ce qui introduces the fact identified as possibly being the problem.
qui Qui in ce qui est peut-être le problème means “which” or “that” and links the preceding fact to the description that follows. It is the subject of est in this clause.
est Est means “is” in ce qui est peut-être le problème, identifying the preceding situation as possibly the problem. It is a form of être.
problème Problème means “problem” in le problème, referring to the likely cause of the plant’s condition. It follows the article le in this expression.
Les Les means “the” before racines in Les racines peuvent souffrir. It introduces the plural noun being discussed.
racines Racines means “roots” in Les racines peuvent souffrir. It identifies the part of the plant that may be harmed by trapped water.
peuvent Peuvent means “can” or “may” in Les racines peuvent souffrir, presenting suffering as a possible result. It is a form of pouvoir used before the infinitive souffrir.
souffrir Souffrir means “suffer” in peuvent souffrir. It describes the possible effect of water having nowhere to escape.
quand Quand means “when” in quand l’eau n’a nulle part où s’échapper. It introduces the situation in which the roots can suffer.
l'eau L’eau means “water” in quand l’eau n’a nulle part où s’échapper. The l’ is the shortened form of the article before eau.
nulle part Nulle part means “nowhere” in l’eau n’a nulle part où s’échapper. Nulle expresses the absence and part supplies the idea of a place; together they say that there is no place for the water to escape.
où Où means “where” in nulle part où s’échapper. It introduces the place connected with the action of escaping.
s'échapper S’échapper means “escape” or “get out” in l’eau n’a nulle part où s’échapper. The reflexive expression describes the water leaving the pot.
Est-ce Est-ce begins Est-ce que, the question construction used to ask whether the plant should be moved. Here it helps form a yes-or-no question rather than adding a separate “is it” meaning.
devrais Devrais means “should” in Est-ce que je devrais aussi la rapprocher de la fenêtre ? It is a form of devoir used when asking for advice about an action.
aussi Aussi means “also” or “too” in je devrais aussi la rapprocher, adding moving the plant closer to the window to the other possible changes. It commonly appears near the action it adds.
rapprocher Rapprocher means “move closer” in la rapprocher de la fenêtre. The reusable pattern keeps the object and destination: rapprocher something de a place.
fenêtre Fenêtre means “window” in de la fenêtre, the place toward which the plant might be moved. It follows the article la in this phrase.
Essaie Essaie means “try” in Essaie de ne changer qu’une chose à la fois. It is the dialogue form of essayer and introduces advice about an action to attempt.
ne Ne in ne changer qu’une chose is part of the limiting construction ne ... qu’une, which means “only one thing.” It should be understood together with qu’une rather than as a standalone negative here.
changer Changer means “change” in ne changer qu’une chose à la fois. It names the adjustment that should be made one at a time.
qu'une Qu’une means “only one” in ne changer qu’une chose à la fois, limiting the number of things to change. It is the contraction of que and une in this expression.
chose Chose means “thing” in qu’une chose, referring to any single care variable being changed. It is the object of changer.
fois Fois means “time” or “occasion” in une chose à la fois, expressing the idea of one thing at a time. This expression is used to separate actions or changes into individual steps.
pour Pour means “in order to” in pour voir ce qui l’aide. It introduces the purpose of changing only one thing.
voir Voir means “see” or “find out” in pour voir ce qui l’aide, referring to discovering which change is helpful. It follows pour in the purpose expression.
l'aide L’aide means “helps it” in ce qui l’aide; l’ refers to the plant and aide is a form of aider. The phrase identifies what has a helpful effect on the plant.
Alors Alors means “then” in Alors, je vais la rempoter, linking the advice to the speaker’s next decision. It is useful for introducing a resulting action.
vais Vais means “am going to” in je vais la rempoter and je vais moins l’arroser, expressing the speaker’s planned actions. It is a form of aller followed by an infinitive.
rempoter Rempoter means “repot” in je vais la rempoter. It names the planned action of moving the plant into a different pot or soil setup.
moins Moins means “less” in moins l’arroser, reducing the amount or frequency of watering. It modifies the watering action in the speaker’s plan.
l'arroser L’arroser means “water it” in moins l’arroser; l’ refers to the plant and arroser is the infinitive meaning “to water.” The object pronoun is attached before the infinitive.
cette Cette means “this” in cette semaine, pointing to the current or relevant week. It appears directly before semaine.
semaine Semaine means “week” in cette semaine, identifying the time period for the planned changes. It follows the demonstrative cette.
S'occuper S’occuper means “take care of” in S’occuper des plantes. The reusable pattern is s’occuper de + a noun, and here the noun is the plants being cared for.
des Des in S’occuper des plantes forms the expression “take care of the plants.” Here it is the contracted form of de and les before the plural noun plantes.
plantes Plantes means “plants” in S’occuper des plantes. It names the objects of the care being discussed.
c'est C’est means “it is” in S’occuper des plantes, c’est surtout observer et faire de petits ajustements. It connects the activity of caring for plants with its description.
surtout Surtout means “mostly” in c’est surtout observer, showing that observation is the main part of plant care. It highlights one activity without saying it is the only one.
observer Observer means “observe” in surtout observer, describing the act of watching the plant’s condition. It is coordinated with faire in the explanation of plant care.
faire Faire means “do” or “make” in faire de petits ajustements, describing the act of making small changes. It is followed here by the noun phrase de petits ajustements.
petits Petits means “small” in de petits ajustements, describing the limited size or scope of the changes. It directly modifies ajustements.
ajustements Ajustements means “adjustments” in faire de petits ajustements, referring to small changes in watering, drainage, light, or repotting. It completes the expression faire de petits ajustements.

Grammar Points

même si + indicatif

Même si je l'arrose souvent, la plante se fane.

MEM see zhuh lah-ROHZ soo-VAHN, lah PLAHNT suh FAHN.

Even though I water it often, the plant is wilting.

After « même si », French uses the indicative to express a real or possible condition.

conditionnel présent : -ait

Plus d'eau l'aiderait à se remettre.

PLEWZ-DOH leh-DREH ah suh ruh-METR.

More water would help it recover.

The ending « -ait » marks a hypothetical result: something would help.

French Vocabulary

arrose verb
ah-ROHZ water l'arrose
l'aiderait verb
leh-DREH would help it
même si conj
MEM see even though
pas assez adv
pah ah-SAY not enough
pensais verb
pahn-SAY thought
peut-être adv
puh-TEHTR perhaps
plante noun
PLAHNT plant
plus d'eau phrase
plewz-DOH more water
plutôt que conj
plew-TOH kuh rather than
se fane verb
suh FAHN is wilting
souvent adv
soo-VAHN often
trop d'eau phrase
troh-DOH too much water

Quiz

Spelling

Tap the letters to spell the word.

often

Show Answersouvent

plant

Show Answerplante

thought

Show Answerpensais