Checking an Email Before Sending | Learn French in English

Sentence explanations

1. Pourriez-vous vérifier le ton de cet e-mail avant que je l'envoie ?

   Could you check the tone of this email before I send it?

   Pourriez-vous

   Could you

   vérifier

   check

   ton

   tone

   cet

   this

   e-mail

   email

   avant que

   before

   je l'envoie

   I send it

   More detail

   Pourriez-vous is a polite request meaning “Could you…?” It combines pouvoir (“to be able to”) in the present conditional with vous as the subject. The conditional here softens the request; it does not refer to past time. Pouvez-vous… ? is more direct but still polite. vérifier is the infinitive “to check” and follows pourriez-vous: Pourriez-vous vérifier… ? = “Could you check…?” The infinitive names the requested action without marking it for a separate tense or subject. ton is a masculine singular noun meaning “tone” here. In other contexts, ton can also mean the informal singular possessive adjective “your,” but that is not its meaning in this sentence. A useful contrast is le ton “the tone” versus un ton “a tone.” cet means “this” before a masculine singular noun beginning with a vowel sound, as in cet e-mail. The demonstrative agrees with the noun it modifies; the choice of cet is not determined by the fact that the email is near in a physical sense. e-mail is the noun “email.” Together, le ton de cet e-mail means “the tone of this email”: de links the thing being evaluated with the email it belongs to. avant que introduces an action that is prior to another action and normally takes the subjunctive in French. Here it means “before,” not “in front of.” The reusable pattern is avant que + subject + subjunctive. je l'envoie means “I send it.” je is the first-person singular subject; l' is a direct-object pronoun referring here to the email; and envoie is the first-person singular present subjunctive form of envoyer (“to send”), required after avant que. In this verb, the present indicative and present subjunctive have the same spelling for je: j'envoie; the surrounding construction identifies the subjunctive use. Putting the parts together, Pourriez-vous vérifier le ton de cet e-mail asks someone politely to check the tone of this email, and avant que je l'envoie sets that check before the speaker sends it. The complete meaning is: “Could you check the tone of this email before I send it?”

2. Il est professionnel, mais le début semble un peu sec.

   It is professional, but the opening feels a little sharp.

   Il

   it

   est

   is

   professionnel

   professional

   mais

   but

   début

   opening

   semble

   seems

   un peu

   a little

   sec

   sharp

   More detail

   Il is a third-person singular subject pronoun. Here it is translated as “it”; the supplied sentence does not uniquely identify what “it” refers to, so keep the referent general. Il est is a reusable subject-plus-verb pattern meaning “it is.” est is the present form of être (“to be”) for a third-person singular subject. Useful forms include je suis (“I am”), il est (“he/it is”), and ils sont (“they are”). professionnel means “professional” here. It is an adjective whose masculine singular form matches the grammatical form of il. The feminine singular form is professionnelle, and the plural forms are professionnels and professionnelles. The adjective describes the subject, not the later noun début. mais connects two contrasting descriptions: “but.” A reusable pattern is X est ..., mais Y ..., where the second part adds a contrast to the first. début is a masculine noun meaning “beginning” or “opening.” With an article, the source uses le début, “the opening.” Its feminine counterpart is not formed by changing this noun; début itself is masculine. Example: Le début est clair. — “The opening is clear.” semble comes from sembler, “to seem” or “to appear.” It is the present third-person singular form, used with il, elle, or a singular noun. Le début semble ... means “The opening seems ...”; the verb presents the description as an impression rather than a direct assertion. un peu means “a little” or “slightly.” It softens the following description. In this use, un is part of the quantity expression un peu; the phrase does not by itself assert that there is one countable object. sec is a masculine singular adjective. It matches the masculine singular noun début in le début ... sec. Although sec can mean “dry” in other contexts, its intended meaning here is “sharp” or somewhat abrupt in tone. Its feminine singular form is sèche, and its plural forms are secs and sèches. Example: Sa réponse semble un peu sèche. — “Her answer seems a little sharp.” Together, the sentence first describes the subject as professional, then contrasts that with an impression about the opening: the opening seems slightly sharp. The wording presents this as a softened evaluation, fitting the surrounding discussion of an email’s tone.

3. Je veux leur rappeler la demande sans paraître impatient.

   I want to remind them about the request without sounding impatient.

   Je veux

   I want to

   leur

   them

   rappeler

   remind

   la demande

   the request

   sans paraître

   without seeming

   impatient

   impatient

   More detail

   Je veux uses vouloir (“to want”) in the present tense, first-person singular: je veux. French commonly uses vouloir + an infinitive to express what the subject wants to do: Je veux comprendre. — “I want to understand.” The subject of the following infinitive is understood to be the same “I.” leur is an indirect-object pronoun meaning “to them” or, with verbs such as rappeler, “them” in the intended English construction. It does not mark the gender of the people referred to, and its form is the same for a plural group of any gender. Object pronouns normally stand before the conjugated verb: Je leur parle. — “I speak to them.” rappeler is the infinitive of “to remind” in this use. In rappeler quelque chose à quelqu’un, the thing being recalled is the direct object and the person receiving the reminder is introduced by an indirect object: Je rappelle la date à Paul. — “I remind Paul of the date.” Here, leur supplies that indirect-object role, while la demande supplies the thing being recalled. la demande means “the request.” Demande is a feminine singular noun, so it takes the feminine singular definite article la. The same noun can refer to a request or an application depending on context; here the fixed translation establishes “request.” sans paraître combines sans (“without”) with the infinitive paraître (“to seem” or “to appear”). A useful reusable pattern is sans + infinitive: Il part sans répondre. — “He leaves without answering.” In this sentence, the infinitive phrase describes how the speaker wants to carry out the reminding. impatient is a masculine singular form of the adjective meaning “impatient.” It agrees with the understood subject of paraître, namely the speaker, but the fixed texts do not establish the speaker’s gender beyond the form used here. The feminine singular form is impatiente, and the plural forms are impatients and impatientes. Together, Je veux leur rappeler la demande means “I want to remind them about the request.” The phrase sans paraître impatient adds the manner: the speaker wants to do this without seeming impatient. The complete utterance is therefore: “I want to remind them about the request without sounding impatient.”

4. Essayez une introduction plus douce qui indique que vous revenez vers eux.

   Try a softer opening that says you are following up.

   Essayez

   try

   une introduction

   an opening

   plus douce

   softer

   qui indique

   that indicates

   vous revenez

   you are following up

   vers eux

   toward them

   More detail

   Essayez is the vous-form imperative of essayer (“to try”). It can address one person politely or several people. The imperative gives a request or instruction; here it means “Try …”. Compare the ordinary present form vous essayez (“you try/are trying”), which has the same written form but a different sentence function when used without imperative context. une introduction means “an opening” here: an introductory passage or first wording. Introduction is a feminine noun, so the indefinite article is une; the article does not by itself assert a numerical count. A reusable pattern is une introduction claire (“a clear opening”). plus douce means “softer”. Douce is the feminine singular form of doux, agreeing with the feminine noun introduction; plus marks the comparative. The comparison is with another possible opening, not necessarily with a specified object. The base/comparison pattern is douce → plus douce (“soft” → “softer”). Example: une formulation plus douce = “softer wording.” qui indique introduces information about une introduction: qui is a relative pronoun functioning as the subject of indique, and indique is the present form of indiquer (“to indicate” or “to signal”). Example: un message qui indique la suite = “a message that indicates what comes next.” vous revenez is the second-person plural present form of revenir (“to come back” or “to return”). In this sentence, the fixed translation and context give it the follow-up meaning “you are following up,” rather than requiring a literal physical return. Revenir is irregular in its stem pattern: compare je reviens, vous revenez, and the infinitive revenir. The form vous can refer to one person addressed politely or to multiple people; the supplied sentence does not require choosing between those possibilities. vers eux means “toward them” or, in this follow-up context, “with them.” Eux is the stressed third-person plural pronoun used after the preposition vers; it refers to the people being followed up with as established by the fixed meaning. The phrase does not use the ordinary subject pronoun ils, because vers requires a form such as eux. Together, une introduction plus douce is the opening being requested, and qui indique que vous revenez vers eux specifies what that opening should communicate. Que introduces the content of what it indicates: you are following up with them. The whole utterance therefore means: “Try a softer opening that says you are following up.”

5. Cela semble mieux. Ma demande est-elle assez claire ?

   That sounds better. Is my request clear enough?

   Cela

   that / this

   semble

   seems

   mieux

   better

   demande

   request

   est-elle

   is it…?

   assez

   enough

   claire

   clear

   More detail

   Cela is a demonstrative pronoun meaning “that” or “this.” Here it points to the wording or revision being evaluated; the supplied translation confirms that the speaker says it sounds better. Unlike a demonstrative adjective, it stands on its own and does not agree with a following noun. semble is the present-tense form of sembler (“to seem”). With a singular subject, use il/elle/cela semble; with a plural subject, use ils/elles semblent. Cela semble + adjective is a reusable pattern for giving an impression: Cela semble utile. — “That seems useful.” mieux is the comparative adverb related to bien (“well”): bien → mieux (“better”). It describes how something is done or appears, rather than agreeing with a noun. The sentence therefore evaluates the result as better, without stating a numerical amount of improvement. demande is the singular noun demande, meaning “request.” Its plural is demandes. It can also refer to an application or inquiry in other contexts, but here the fixed translation identifies a request. Example: Votre demande est claire. — “Your request is clear.” est-elle combines the present form est of être (“is”) with the subject pronoun elle (“it/she”) through subject–verb inversion. In this sentence, elle refers to the speaker’s request, as confirmed by the translation. The inversion forms a yes/no question: statement Elle est claire. → question Est-elle claire ? The hyphen is part of this written question pattern. assez means “enough” or “sufficiently.” Before an adjective, as here, it means “sufficiently”: assez claire = “clear enough.” It does not itself express a specific quantity. Example: Le message est assez court. — “The message is short enough.” claire is the feminine singular form of the adjective clair (“clear”). It agrees with the feminine singular noun demande: une demande claire. The masculine singular form is clair, and the plural forms are clairs and claires according to gender and number. Here assez modifies the adjective, while claire describes the request. Together, Cela semble mieux means “That sounds/seems better.” Then Ma demande means “my request”; est-elle turns “is it” into an inverted question; and assez claire asks whether the request is sufficiently clear. The complete utterance is: “That sounds better. Is my request clear enough?”

6. Expliquez la prochaine étape dans le même paragraphe.

   Explain the next step in the same paragraph.

   Expliquez

   explain

   prochaine

   next

   étape

   step

   même

   same

   paragraphe

   paragraph

   More detail

   Expliquez is the imperative form of expliquer (“to explain”). It addresses one person formally or more than one person; the subject is understood as vous. The imperative is used here for a direct instruction. Compare Expliquez la règle. — “Explain the rule.” prochaine means “next” here and agrees with the feminine singular noun étape. Its base adjective is prochain; prochain is used with a masculine singular noun, while prochaine is used with a feminine singular noun. The adjective comes before the noun in this phrase. étape means “step” or “stage.” It is a feminine noun, which is why the adjective appears as prochaine. The phrase la prochaine étape means “the next step”; la identifies a specific step in the intended sequence. même means “same” here. It is singular because it describes the singular noun paragraphe; its spelling does not change for masculine versus feminine nouns in the singular. With a plural noun, it takes the form mêmes, as in les mêmes paragraphes — “the same paragraphs.” paragraphe means “paragraph.” It is a masculine noun. In le même paragraphe, le marks the masculine singular noun, and même describes that noun. The structure Expliquez [la prochaine étape] [dans le même paragraphe] gives an instruction: explain the next step, with the explanation placed in the same paragraph. dans introduces the location or container, and le même paragraphe specifies which paragraph. Together, the full utterance means “Explain the next step in the same paragraph.”

7. J'ai aussi ajouté du contexte supplémentaire vers la fin.

   I also added extra context near the end.

   J'ai

   I have

   aussi

   also

   ajouté

   added

   contexte

   context

   supplémentaire

   extra; additional

   vers la fin

   near the end

   More detail

   J'ai is the contracted form of je (“I”) plus ai, the first-person singular present form of avoir (“have”). Here it works with the past participle ajouté to form the French passé composé, a common way to describe a completed past action. The apostrophe is part of the written contraction: je ai becomes j'ai. aussi means “also” and adds this action to something already understood in the context. Its position directly after J'ai is natural, but it can be placed elsewhere when the speaker wants different emphasis. ajouté is the past participle of ajouter, “to add.” In this sentence, ai ajouté means “added.” With avoir, the past participle normally does not change to agree with a direct object that follows it, as du contexte does here. For example: J'ai ajouté une phrase. — “I added a sentence.” contexte is a masculine singular noun meaning “context.” In du contexte supplémentaire, du is the partitive article, expressing an unspecified amount of context. le contexte is the definite form. The adjective supplémentaire agrees with contexte in number; its singular form is the same with masculine and feminine nouns. supplémentaire means “extra” or “additional.” It describes contexte and specifies that the added context is additional context, rather than changing the action expressed by ajouté. The form is the same for masculine and feminine singular nouns; plural forms add -s, as in des informations supplémentaires (“additional information”). vers la fin means “near the end” or “toward the end.” vers marks an approximate direction or point in time, while la fin means “the end.” This phrase locates when or where the context was added without claiming that it was added exactly at the end. For example: Nous sommes arrivés vers la fin. — “We arrived near the end.” Together, J'ai aussi ajouté gives “I also added,” du contexte supplémentaire gives “extra context,” and vers la fin places that addition near the end. The complete utterance therefore means: “I also added extra context near the end.”

8. Le contexte est utile. Vérifiez la liste des destinataires avant de l'envoyer.

   The context is helpful. Check the recipient list before you send it.

   contexte

   context

   utile

   helpful

   Vérifiez

   check

   liste

   list

   destinataires

   recipients

   avant de

   before

   l'envoyer

   send it

   More detail

   contexte is a masculine singular noun meaning “context.” Its plural is contextes: un contexte / des contextes. In the fixed sentence, Le marks this noun as definite: “the context.” utile describes contexte as helpful or useful here. The adjective has the same singular form for masculine and feminine nouns: un conseil utile, une information utile; its plural is utiles. Vérifiez means “check” here. It is the imperative form of vérifier for vous, used when addressing one person formally or more than one person. The same form is also the present-tense vous form: Vous vérifiez la liste means “You check the list.” liste is a feminine singular noun meaning “list.” Its plural is listes: la liste / les listes. In this sentence, la makes it a specific list understood from the situation. destinataires means “recipients.” It is the plural of the masculine/feminine noun destinataire, so the form itself does not identify the recipients’ gender: un destinataire, une destinataire, des destinataires. The phrase la liste des destinataires means “the recipient list,” with des destinataires specifying whose list it is. avant de introduces an action that happens earlier than another action. It is followed by an infinitive: avant de partir means “before leaving.” Here it connects the checking with the later sending action. l'envoyer consists of the object pronoun l' plus the infinitive envoyer, “to send.” l' is the elided form of le or la before a vowel, and it means “it” here; the fixed translation does not specify a more precise referent. Compare le vérifier (“to check it,” masculine or unspecified referent) and la vérifier (“to check it,” feminine referent). In l'envoyer, the pronoun is placed before the infinitive. Together, Le contexte est utile means “The context is helpful.” Vérifiez la liste des destinataires is a formal or plural instruction: “Check the recipient list.” avant de l'envoyer adds that this checking should happen before sending it. The complete meaning is: “The context is helpful. Check the recipient list before you send it.”

9. C'était facile de passer à côté. La mauvaise personne a été incluse par erreur.

   That was easy to miss. The wrong person was included by mistake.

   C'était

   That was

   facile

   easy

   passer à côté

   to miss

   mauvaise

   wrong

   personne

   person

   a été incluse

   was included

   par erreur

   by mistake

   More detail

   C'était means “that was” here. It is the third-person singular imperfect form of être (“to be”), with ce elided before the vowel: ce était becomes c'était. The imperfect presents the situation as a past state or description. Example: C'était important. — “That was important.” facile means “easy.” It is an adjective; its form is the same for masculine and feminine singular, while the plural is faciles. In C'était facile, it describes the situation as easy rather than agreeing visibly with a named noun. passer à côté is a reusable expression meaning “to miss” or “to overlook” something. passer is the infinitive “to pass,” and à côté literally indicates being beside or aside, but together they form the expression used here. Example: Ne passez pas à côté de cette occasion. — “Don’t miss this opportunity.” mauvaise means “wrong” in this context. It is the feminine singular form of the adjective mauvais; mauvais is masculine singular, mauvaise feminine singular, and mauvaises feminine plural. The feminine form is required here because it modifies the feminine noun personne. personne means “person.” In this sentence it is a feminine noun, so the adjective before it is mauvaise. The noun’s grammatical gender does not by itself identify any particular individual; the sentence only says that the person included was the wrong one. a été incluse means “was included.” This is a passive construction: a été is the third-person singular passé composé of être in the passive sequence, and incluse is the feminine singular past participle of inclure. The ending -e on incluse agrees with the feminine singular subject personne; the masculine singular form is inclus. The passive focuses on the person receiving the action, without naming who included the person. par erreur means “by mistake.” It is a fixed adverbial expression explaining that the inclusion happened accidentally or incorrectly. Example: Le fichier a été envoyé par erreur. — “The file was sent by mistake.” Together, C'était facile de passer à côté says that it was easy to overlook something. La mauvaise personne a été incluse par erreur then identifies the problem: the person included was not the intended person, and this happened by mistake. The two sentences therefore mean: “That was easy to miss. The wrong person was included by mistake.”

10. Retirez cette personne de la liste.

    Remove that person from the list.

    Retirez

    Remove

    cette

    that

    personne

    person

    de la

    from the

    liste

    list

    More detail

    Retirez is the imperative form of retirer, “to remove” or “to take away.” The ending -ez is used for a command addressed to more than one person or as a formal command to one person. For example: Retirez le dossier. — “Remove the file.” cette is the feminine singular form of the demonstrative determiner meaning “this” or “that.” It agrees with the feminine singular noun personne; the choice between “this” and “that” depends on context, while the form agrees with the noun’s grammatical gender and number. For example: cette table — “this/that table.” personne means “person” here and is a feminine noun in French, even when it refers to someone of another gender. Its plural form is personnes. For example: Une personne attend. — “A person is waiting.” de la combines de with the feminine singular article la. In this sentence it introduces what the person is being removed from: “from the.” Before a masculine singular noun, the corresponding form is du, as in retirer un nom du document — “remove a name from the document.” liste means “list.” It is a feminine noun, so la liste means “the list.” For example: La liste est courte. — “The list is short.” Together, Retirez cette personne gives the command “Remove that person,” and de la liste specifies the source from which the removal should be made. The complete utterance therefore means “Remove that person from the list.”

11. Alors, l'e-mail est prêt à être envoyé.

    Then the email is ready to send.

    Alors

    then

    l'e-mail

    the email

    prêt

    ready

    à être envoyé

    to be sent

    More detail

    Alors means “then” here and introduces the statement as a consequence or next step. It can also have other discourse uses in French, but this sentence uses it as a connector. l’e-mail is the noun “the email.” The article l’ is the elided form of le before a vowel sound. e-mail is masculine in this usage, so the singular adjective later appears as prêt. prêt means “ready” here. Its base form is prêt; the feminine singular form is prête, and the masculine plural form is prêts. It agrees with the noun it describes: L’e-mail est prêt means “The email is ready.” à être envoyé expresses “to be sent.” à is followed here by the infinitive être (“to be”), and envoyé is the past participle of envoyer (“to send”). Together, être envoyé is passive: the email is the thing sent, without stating who sends it. Because the passive subject is masculine singular, envoyé has the masculine singular form. For a feminine singular subject, the corresponding form would be envoyée, as in the example La lettre est prête à être envoyée. — “The letter is ready to be sent.” The reusable pattern is être prêt(e) à être + past participle: it describes something as ready to undergo an action. In this sentence, prêt à être envoyé combines “ready” with “to be sent.” Putting the parts together, Alors gives “Then,” l’e-mail est prêt says “the email is ready,” and à être envoyé specifies what it is ready for. The whole utterance means: “Then the email is ready to send.”