Checking the Apartment Before a Long Trip | Learn French in English

Sentence explanations

1. Nous serons absents pendant plusieurs jours, alors vérifions bien l'appartement.

   We'll be away for several days, so let's double-check the apartment.

   serons

   will be

   absents

   away; absent

   pendant plusieurs jours

   for several days

   alors

   so

   vérifions

   let’s check

   bien

   carefully; thoroughly

   l'appartement

   the apartment

   More detail

   serons comes from être (“to be”) and is the first-person plural future form: nous serons = “we will be.” Compare present nous sommes (“we are”). Here the future places the state of being away after the speaking moment. absents is the adjective absent, meaning “away” or “absent” here. Its plural ending agrees with nous; absentes is the feminine-plural form, while absents is used for a masculine or mixed group. The sentence does not identify the group’s gender composition. pendant plusieurs jours expresses a duration: “for several days.” plusieurs means more than one but does not specify an exact number, and jours is the plural of jour (“day”). The pattern pendant + a duration is reusable: pendant deux heures means “for two hours.” alors links the situation to the action that follows and means “so” here. It introduces the practical consequence of being away for several days. vérifions comes from vérifier (“to check”) and is the first-person plural imperative, used for “let’s check.” French uses this nous imperative to propose a joint action. For example, Vérifions la porte. means “Let’s check the door.” bien is an adverb modifying the checking action. In this sentence it strengthens vérifions, giving the sense “check carefully” or “double-check,” rather than merely “check.” l'appartement means “the apartment.” appartement is a masculine singular noun; le becomes l' before the vowel sound at the beginning of appartement. This is elision, not a different article meaning. The same pattern appears in l'hôtel (“the hotel”). Together, Nous serons absents pendant plusieurs jours says that we will be away for several days. alors vérifions bien l'appartement then proposes carefully checking the apartment. The complete meaning is: “We’ll be away for several days, so let’s double-check the apartment.”

2. J'ai débranché les petits appareils et éteint la cuisinière.

   I unplugged the small appliances and turned off the stove.

   J'ai

   I have…

   débranché

   unplugged

   petits

   small

   appareils

   appliances

   éteint

   turned off

   cuisinière

   stove

   More detail

   J'ai is the first-person singular present form of avoir (“I have”). Here it is the auxiliary in the passé composé, a common way to describe a completed past event. The subject is je, shortened to j' before the vowel sound in ai. In this construction, the auxiliary carries the person and tense, while the following past participles carry the lexical meanings. débranché is the past participle of débrancher, “to unplug” or “to disconnect.” With avoir, it combines with j'ai to mean “I unplugged.” A reusable pattern is j'ai + past participle: J'ai fermé la porte. — “I closed the door.” petits means “small” here. It is the plural masculine form of the adjective petit, agreeing with the plural masculine noun appareils: singular petit appareil, plural petits appareils. The adjective comes before the noun in this phrase. The feminine forms are petite and petites, as in une petite lampe — “a small lamp.” appareils is the plural of appareil, a general word for devices or appliances. In this sentence, the fixed translation identifies these devices as appliances. The plural is marked by the final -s, which is normally not pronounced in French. The phrase les petits appareils therefore means “the small appliances,” with les marking a specific plural group. éteint is the past participle of éteindre, “to turn off” or “to switch off.” With j'ai, j'ai éteint means “I turned off.” This verb is distinct from débrancher: one can turn an appliance off without unplugging it. The same past participle appears in J'ai éteint la lumière. — “I turned off the light.” cuisinière is a feminine noun meaning “stove” or “cooker.” In the utterance, la cuisinière identifies the stove that was turned off. The feminine article la belongs with this noun; it is not a marker of the action or of the past tense. The two completed actions are joined by et: J'ai débranché les petits appareils et éteint la cuisinière. French does not need to repeat j'ai before the second coordinated past participle: the shared auxiliary applies to both débranché and éteint. The whole utterance therefore means “I unplugged the small appliances and turned off the stove.”

3. La porte du balcon et les fenêtres de la chambre sont-elles bien fermées ?

   Are the balcony door and bedroom windows secure?

   porte

   door

   balcon

   balcony

   fenêtres

   windows

   chambre

   bedroom

   sont-elles

   are they

   bien

   properly; securely

   fermées

   closed

   More detail

   porte means “door” here. It is a feminine singular noun: une porte “a door,” la porte “the door.” In La porte du balcon, du is the contraction of de + le, so the phrase literally has the pattern la porte de + le balcon → “the balcony door.” balcon means “balcony.” It is a masculine noun, as shown by le balcon. The preposition de links it to porte: la porte du balcon identifies the door by its connection with the balcony. fenêtres means “windows.” The singular is fenêtre; the final -s marks the plural in writing: une fenêtre → des fenêtres. In les fenêtres de la chambre, de la links the windows to chambre, giving “the bedroom windows.” chambre means “bedroom” here. It is feminine: la chambre. The phrase de la chambre means “of the bedroom” or, naturally in this noun combination, “bedroom.” sont-elles is the inverted question pattern verb–subject pronoun. sont is the third-person plural present form of être “to be” (je suis, il/elle est, ils/elles sont), and elles is the feminine plural subject pronoun “they.” Here elles refers to the coordinated subject la porte ... et les fenêtres ...; both nouns are feminine, and the plural subject therefore takes sont and fermées. In a question, Les fenêtres sont-elles fermées ? is a formal or neutral way to ask “Are the windows closed?” bien normally means “well,” but before a state description it can strengthen the idea that something is in the proper or satisfactory condition. Here bien fermées asks whether the doors and windows are properly closed or secure, matching the fixed translation “secure.” fermées means “closed” in this sentence. Its base adjective is fermé “closed”; the form here is feminine plural because it describes the coordinated feminine plural subject. Compare La porte est fermée “The door is closed” with Les fenêtres sont fermées “The windows are closed.” The adjective describes closedness; it does not by itself specifically assert that something is locked. Together, La porte du balcon et les fenêtres de la chambre is the subject: “the balcony door and the bedroom windows.” sont-elles bien fermées ? asks whether this plural feminine subject is properly closed/secure. The whole utterance is therefore: “Are the balcony door and bedroom windows secure?”

4. La porte du balcon est verrouillée, et je vais vérifier les fenêtres de la chambre maintenant.

   The balcony door is locked, and I will check the bedroom windows now.

   porte

   door

   balcon

   balcony

   verrouillée

   locked

   je vais

   I am going to

   vérifier

   check

   fenêtres

   windows

   chambre

   bedroom

   maintenant

   now

   More detail

   porte means “door” here. It is a feminine singular noun: une porte, la porte. In la porte du balcon, du balcon identifies which door: du is the contraction of de le, meaning “of the.” balcon means “balcony.” It is a masculine noun: un balcon, le balcon. Thus du balcon is “of the balcony.” verrouillée means “locked” here and describes la porte. Its base form is the adjective or past participle verrouillé; the feminine singular ending -e gives verrouillée, agreeing with the feminine singular noun porte. For example, La fenêtre est verrouillée. means “The window is locked.” je vais is the first-person singular present form of aller, “to go.” With an infinitive, aller + infinitive expresses the near future: je vais vérifier means “I am going to check” or, naturally here, “I will check.” The subject is je, “I”; vais is the form of aller used with that subject. vérifier is the infinitive “to check” or “to verify.” After je vais, it remains in the infinitive rather than receiving a present-tense ending. For example, Je vais vérifier la serrure. means “I am going to check the lock.” fenêtres means “windows.” Its singular base form is fenêtre; the final -s marks the plural in writing: une fenêtre, des fenêtres. In les fenêtres de la chambre, de la chambre specifies which windows, “the bedroom windows.” Chambre is a feminine noun, so the phrase uses la and de la. chambre means “bedroom” in this phrase. It is feminine singular: une chambre, la chambre. The preposition de links it to fenêtres, giving the relation “windows of the bedroom,” naturally “bedroom windows.” maintenant means “now.” It places the checking in the present time and applies to the planned action je vais vérifier. Together, La porte du balcon est verrouillée states that the balcony door is locked. Et je vais vérifier les fenêtres de la chambre maintenant adds that the speaker will check the bedroom windows now. The complete utterance is: “The balcony door is locked, and I will check the bedroom windows now.”

5. Devrait-on baisser le thermostat pendant notre absence ?

   Should we lower the thermostat while we are gone?

   Devrait-on

   Should we

   baisser

   lower

   thermostat

   thermostat

   pendant

   during

   notre absence

   our absence

   More detail

   Devrait-on combines devrait, the present conditional form of devoir, with inverted on. Here it asks about a possible or advisable action: “Should we…?” The on is the subject and, according to the fixed translation, means “we” in this sentence. In other contexts, on can also refer more generally to people or someone, so its exact referent comes from context. The inversion gives a question pattern: Devrait-on + infinitive… ? Example: Devrait-on attendre ? — “Should we wait?” baisser is an infinitive meaning “to lower” or “to turn down.” After the conjugated form devrait, French uses the infinitive: on devrait baisser, “we should lower.” The object of this action is introduced by the following noun phrase. Example: Nous devrions baisser la lumière. — “We should dim the light.” thermostat is a masculine noun. In the sentence, le marks it as a specific thermostat: le thermostat. The noun itself stays thermostat here; the masculine marking is carried by the article le, not by a change to the noun. Example: Le thermostat est réglé trop haut. — “The thermostat is set too high.” pendant is a preposition meaning “during” or “while,” introducing the time period associated with what follows. Here it connects lowering the thermostat with the period of notre absence, “our absence.” Example: Pendant notre absence, le chauffage reste allumé. — “While we are away, the heating stays on.” notre absence means “our absence” or, in this context, “the time when we are away.” notre is the possessive determiner for “our” before a singular noun; absence is a feminine noun, but notre has the same form before singular masculine and feminine nouns. Compare notre absence with nos absences, where nos is used before a plural noun. Example: Nous prévenirons le voisin pendant notre absence. — “We will notify the neighbor while we are away.” Together, Devrait-on baisser le thermostat asks whether lowering the specific thermostat would be advisable, and pendant notre absence specifies the period when this would happen. The complete utterance means: “Should we lower the thermostat while we are gone?”

6. Baisse-le, mais pas au point que l'appartement devienne trop froid.

   Set it lower, but not so low that the apartment gets too cold.

   Baisse-le

   lower it

   mais pas

   but not

   au point que

   to the point that

   l'appartement

   the apartment

   devienne

   becomes

   trop froid

   too cold

   More detail

   Baisse-le uses the imperative of baisser (“to lower”) with the object pronoun le attached after the verb by a hyphen. In this context, le refers to the thermostat mentioned in the preceding sentence, so the instruction is to lower it. The imperative form baisse addresses one person informally; the plural/formal form is baissez-le. mais pas introduces the limit on the instruction: lower it, but not to an excessive degree. Here, pas belongs to the limitation that follows; it does not by itself mean that the first command is cancelled. au point que is a reusable pattern meaning “to the point that” or “so ... that.” It introduces a result or consequence. For example: Il parle au point que tout le monde l'entend. — “He speaks so loudly that everyone can hear him.” l'appartement means “the apartment.” l' is the definite article before a vowel sound, representing le here; the noun remains masculine singular. The noun is the subject of the following clause. devienne is the third-person singular present subjunctive of devenir, “to become.” The subjunctive appears here after au point que because the clause presents the possible consequence of lowering the thermostat. Useful forms include devenir (infinitive), devient (present indicative: “becomes/is becoming”), and devienne (present subjunctive: “becomes” in this consequence structure). For example: Je règle le chauffage pour que la pièce devienne agréable. — “I adjust the heating so that the room becomes comfortable.” trop froid means “too cold.” froid is the adjective, and it agrees with the masculine singular noun appartement: un appartement froid. The comparative/intensity word trop means “too,” indicating an excessive degree, not simply “very.” With a feminine singular noun, the adjective would be froide, as in the example une pièce trop froide — “a room that is too cold.” Together, Baisse-le gives the instruction to lower the thermostat, while mais pas au point que l'appartement devienne trop froid sets the boundary: do not lower it so much that the apartment becomes excessively cold. The whole utterance is therefore: “Set it lower, but not so low that the apartment gets too cold.”

7. J'ai aussi demandé à notre voisin de récupérer les colis.

   I also asked our neighbor to collect any packages.

   J'ai

   I have

   aussi

   also

   demandé

   asked

   voisin

   neighbor

   récupérer

   to collect

   colis

   packages

   More detail

   J'ai is the contracted form of je + ai: “I” plus the first-person singular present form of avoir. Here ai is an auxiliary, and with the past participle demandé it forms the passé composé for a completed “I asked.” Example: J'ai appelé. — “I called.” aussi means “also” and adds this action to something already mentioned. Its position after J'ai is natural here. Example: J'ai aussi écrit. — “I also wrote.” demandé is the past participle of demander, “to ask.” In this sentence, demander à quelqu'un de + infinitive means “to ask someone to do something”: J'ai demandé à notre voisin de... The person asked is introduced by à, while the requested action follows de. The past participle belongs to demander, not to récupérer. voisin means “neighbor.” It is a masculine noun; the corresponding feminine noun is voisine. In the full phrase, notre voisin means “our neighbor”: notre agrees with the singular noun in number, while voisin identifies the person being asked. Example: Je parle à notre voisin. — “I am speaking to our neighbor.” récupérer is an infinitive meaning “to collect” here. It follows de because it is the action requested of the neighbor. In other contexts, récupérer can refer to retrieving or picking something up, but the fixed translation establishes “collect” as its intended meaning here. Example: Elle va récupérer le document. — “She is going to collect the document.” colis means “packages” here. The spelling is the same in the singular and plural: un colis is “a package,” and des colis is “packages.” In the sentence, les colis is the object of récupérer; the fixed translation expresses these as “any packages.” The article itself should not be treated as stating a numeric count. Together, J'ai aussi demandé gives “I also asked,” à notre voisin identifies the person asked, and de récupérer les colis gives the requested action. The complete meaning is: “I also asked our neighbor to collect any packages.”

8. Cela donne l'impression que le logement est occupé pendant notre absence.

   That helps the place look occupied while we are away.

   Cela

   That

   donne

   gives

   l'impression

   impression

   le logement

   the place

   est occupé

   is occupied

   pendant

   during

   notre absence

   our absence

   More detail

   Cela is a demonstrative pronoun meaning “that” here. It points to something already established in the discourse; the supplied context supports a reference to the preceding situation or action without identifying it more specifically. Unlike a demonstrative determiner, it stands on its own rather than directly modifying a noun. A useful contrast is ce logement (“this/that dwelling”), where ce accompanies a noun. donne is the present-tense form of donner (“to give”), used with the third-person singular subject Cela. In the construction donner l'impression que..., it means “give the impression that...” or “make it seem that...”. Example: Cela donne l'impression qu'il est chez lui. — “That gives the impression that he is at home.” l'impression is the noun impression with the definite article l', whose vowel elision results from the following vowel sound. Here it means an appearance or impression, not a physical mark. Together with donne, it forms the reusable pattern donner l'impression que + clause (“give the impression that + clause”). le logement is a masculine singular noun meaning “the dwelling” or “the place.” The article le identifies a particular place in this utterance. Logement is a useful more specific word than the broad noun lieu (“place”); it commonly refers to a place where someone lives. est occupé combines est, the third-person singular present form of être (“to be”), with occupé, the masculine singular form of the adjective or past participle occupé (“occupied”). The masculine singular form agrees with the masculine singular noun logement. In this sentence it describes the place as appearing inhabited or in use. Example: Le bureau est occupé. — “The office is occupied.” pendant introduces the time period during which something happens. Here it means “during” and links the apparent occupied state to the period of absence. It is also common with a duration, as in pendant deux jours (“for two days”). notre absence means “our absence.” Notre is the possessive determiner used with a singular noun for “our”; the noun absence is feminine, but notre has the same form with singular masculine and feminine nouns. Example: notre arrivée — “our arrival.” Together, Cela donne l'impression que presents an appearance or impression, and le logement est occupé states what that appearance suggests. Pendant notre absence specifies when that apparent state holds. The whole utterance therefore means: “That helps the place look occupied while we are away.” The wording describes an appearance, not a claim that the place is actually occupied.

9. Maintenant, je me sens plus tranquille à l'idée de partir.

   Now I feel more relaxed about leaving.

   Maintenant

   now

   je me sens

   I feel

   plus tranquille

   more relaxed

   idée

   idea

   partir

   leave

   More detail

   Maintenant sets the time: “now.” It is a time adverb and can be moved for emphasis, for example: Maintenant, je comprends. — “Now I understand.” je me sens means “I feel” here. me sens is the first-person singular present form of the pronominal verb se sentir (“to feel”); je is the subject and me marks the same person as the experiencer. Compare je sens (“I feel/sense” something directly) with je me sens (“I feel” in a particular state). Example: Je me sens mieux. — “I feel better.” plus tranquille describes the resulting feeling as “more relaxed” or “calmer.” plus marks comparison, and tranquille is the adjective being compared; its base form is tranquille. This adjective has the same form for masculine and feminine singular, while its plural form is tranquilles. The comparison can be made explicit with plus tranquille que... (“more relaxed than...”); its opposite in this context is plus inquiet or plus tendu, depending on the intended contrast. idée is the feminine noun “idea.” In the reusable construction à l'idée de + infinitive, it refers to the thought or prospect of doing something, rather than simply to an abstract idea. The form à l'idée contains à followed by the elided definite article l' before the vowel of idée. Example: À l'idée de voyager, elle sourit. — “At the thought of travelling, she smiles.” partir is the infinitive “to leave” or “to depart.” After à l'idée de, the infinitive names the contemplated action: à l'idée de partir means “about leaving” or “at the thought of leaving.” Partir is an irregular verb; its present forms include je pars, tu pars, and il/elle part, while the infinitive remains partir in this construction. Together, je me sens plus tranquille says that the speaker now experiences a greater sense of calm, and à l'idée de partir specifies what that feeling concerns: leaving. The complete utterance therefore means, “Now I feel more relaxed about leaving.”

10. Cette liste de vérification a pris un peu de temps, mais cela en valait la peine.

    This checklist took a little time, but it was worth it.

    Cette

    this

    liste de vérification

    checklist

    a pris

    took

    un peu de temps

    a little time

    mais

    but

    cela

    it

    en valait la peine

    was worth it

    More detail

    Cette means “this” here and agrees with the feminine singular noun liste. The demonstrative forms are ce before a masculine singular noun, cet before a masculine singular noun beginning with a vowel sound, cette before a feminine singular noun, and ces for plural nouns. The form marks the noun’s grammatical gender and number; it does not itself identify a numeric quantity. liste de vérification is a feminine noun phrase meaning “checklist”: liste is “list,” and de vérification specifies its purpose. The pattern liste de + noun is reusable for a list devoted to something. Example: une liste de courses — “a shopping list.” a pris is the past form of prendre, “to take.” It is the passé composé: the present-tense auxiliary a from avoir plus the past participle pris. Here, with the checklist as subject, it means that the checklist-related task required time. Prendre can have other meanings in other contexts, such as “to take” an object or transport, so the time expression determines the meaning here. un peu de temps means “a little time.” The pattern un peu de + noun expresses a small amount, especially with an uncountable or mass noun such as temps; un in this expression does not assert that there was exactly one unit of time. Example: J’ai besoin d’un peu de temps. — “I need a little time.” mais links two contrasting statements and corresponds to “but.” It introduces the fact that the time required is contrasted with the positive evaluation that follows. cela is a neutral demonstrative pronoun, “that” or “it” in English. In this sentence it points back to the effort described in the preceding clause, with the intended meaning “it.” Unlike cette, it stands on its own rather than modifying a noun. A related, often more conversational form is ça; cela is also common in more neutral or formal wording. en valait la peine is the expression valoir la peine, “to be worth it.” valait is the imperfect form of valoir, whose base form means “to be worth” in this construction. The imperfect presents the evaluation as applying to the situation being discussed. The pronoun en refers to the effort or activity under evaluation, while la peine is part of the fixed expression; translating each word separately would not give the natural meaning. Example: Le détour en valait la peine. — “The detour was worth it.” Together, Cette liste de vérification a pris un peu de temps says that this checklist-related effort required a small amount of time. mais cela en valait la peine contrasts that cost in time with the conclusion that the effort was worthwhile. The whole utterance is therefore: “This checklist took a little time, but it was worth it.”