Asking safely about medicine instructions | Learn French in English

Sentence explanations

1. Je ne comprends pas bien cette étiquette de médicament.

   I am not sure I understand this medicine label.

   ne … comprends … pas

   do not understand

   bien

   well

   cette

   this

   étiquette

   label

   médicament

   medicine

   More detail

   ne ... pas with comprends: In this sentence, the two parts surround the verb and make the clause negative. comprends is the first-person singular present form of comprendre (“to understand”): je comprends = “I understand,” while je ne comprends pas = “I do not understand.” In careful written French, both ne and pas are normally written; in informal speech, ne is often omitted. bien: This adverb means “well” here and modifies understanding, not the label itself. The combination ne ... pas bien comprendre means “not understand well,” which naturally conveys uncertainty or incomplete understanding in this context. For example, Je comprends bien la consigne means “I understand the instruction well.” cette: This is the feminine singular form of the demonstrative determiner meaning “this” or “that.” It agrees with the noun it determines, étiquette, which is feminine singular. The masculine singular counterpart is ce, as in ce médicament (“this medicine”); the choice is based on the grammatical gender and number of the noun, not on the physical object. étiquette: This feminine noun means “label” here. The phrase une étiquette means “a label,” and cette étiquette means “this label.” In another context, étiquette can also refer to a tag or label attached to an object, so the surrounding noun phrase identifies it here as a medicine label. médicament: This masculine noun means “medicine” or “medication.” In étiquette de médicament, de links the two nouns and gives the relation “label for/of medicine.” The noun remains singular in this phrase; des médicaments would mean “medicines” or “medications” in the plural. Together, the chunks express that the speaker does not understand this medicine label well. The negative pattern applies to comprends, bien specifies the quality of understanding, and cette étiquette de médicament identifies what the speaker is having difficulty understanding.

2. Appelle le pharmacien avant de prendre la prochaine dose.

   Call the pharmacist before you take the next dose.

   Appelle

   call

   pharmacien

   pharmacist

   avant de

   before doing

   prendre

   take

   prochaine

   next

   dose

   dose

   More detail

   Appelle is the singular informal imperative of appeler, “to call.” It addresses one person with tu and gives a direct instruction. Compare Appelez, the plural or formal imperative. Example: Appelle le médecin. — “Call the doctor.” pharmacien means “pharmacist.” It is a masculine noun; the corresponding feminine form is pharmacienne. In this sentence, it is the person being called, introduced by le (“the”). avant de introduces an action that happens later than the action in the main clause: “before doing.” French uses avant de followed by an infinitive when the understood subject of both actions is the same. Example: Lisez avant de répondre. — “Read before answering.” prendre is the infinitive “to take.” Here it refers to taking a dose. Its common present-tense forms include je prends, tu prends, and il/elle prend; the infinitive itself stays prendre after de. Example: Je dois prendre ce médicament. — “I have to take this medicine.” prochaine means “next” here. It is the feminine singular form of prochain, agreeing with the feminine singular noun dose. The masculine singular form is prochain; plural forms include prochains and prochaines. Example: la prochaine étape — “the next step.” dose means “dose,” the amount of medicine taken at one time. It is a feminine noun, which is why the adjective appears as prochaine rather than prochain. Together, Appelle le pharmacien means “Call the pharmacist.” avant de prendre la prochaine dose adds the time condition “before you take the next dose.” The complete utterance is therefore: “Call the pharmacist before you take the next dose.”

3. Je veux aussi demander si je devrais éviter certains aliments.

   I also want to ask whether I should avoid certain foods.

   Je veux

   I want

   aussi

   also

   demander

   to ask

   si

   whether

   je devrais

   I should

   éviter

   to avoid

   certains

   certain; some

   aliments

   foods

   More detail

   Je veux means “I want” here. veux is the first-person singular present form of vouloir: je veux, tu veux, il/elle veut. The pattern je veux + infinitive expresses a present desire or intention, as in Je veux partir. — “I want to leave.” aussi means “also” and adds this intention to something already mentioned. Its position here is after the conjugated verb: Je veux aussi... — “I also want to...” demander means “to ask.” It is an infinitive, so Je veux demander literally combines “I want” with “to ask.” The same verb can introduce a question or request: Je vais demander de l’aide. — “I’m going to ask for help.” si introduces the embedded yes-or-no question here and means “whether.” It does not mean a condition such as “if” in this sentence. The pattern demander si + clause means “ask whether...” or “ask if...”: Je demande si le magasin est ouvert. — “I’m asking whether the shop is open.” je devrais means “I should” in this context. devrais is the first-person singular conditional form of devoir; the present-tense form is je dois, “I must / I have to.” The conditional makes this a question about what would be advisable: Je devrais attendre. — “I should wait.” éviter means “to avoid.” It is an infinitive governed by devrais: je devrais éviter — “I should avoid.” In French, a modal such as devoir is followed by an infinitive: Je dois partir. — “I have to leave.” certains means “certain” or “some” in the sense of particular items, not an exact stated number. It is the masculine plural form agreeing with aliments. Related forms include certaine (feminine singular), certains (masculine plural), and certaines (feminine plural). For example, certaines boissons means “certain drinks,” with the feminine plural form matching boissons. aliments means “foods” or “food items.” It is the plural of aliment; the plural is marked by final -s, which is normally not pronounced. The word refers to things that can be eaten, as in Ces aliments sont frais. — “These foods are fresh.” Together, Je veux aussi demander gives “I also want to ask,” si je devrais éviter gives “whether I should avoid,” and certains aliments gives “certain foods.” The complete utterance therefore means: “I also want to ask whether I should avoid certain foods.”

4. Cela vaut la peine de vérifier, surtout si l'étiquette mentionne les repas.

   That is worth checking, especially if the label mentions meals.

   Cela

   That

   vaut la peine

   is worth it

   vérifier

   to check

   surtout si

   especially if

   l'étiquette

   the label

   mentionne

   mentions

   repas

   meals

   More detail

   Cela is a demonstrative pronoun meaning “that” here. It refers to the matter being considered, without identifying a specific concrete object. Unlike a demonstrative adjective, it stands on its own: cela peut être utile — “That can be useful.” vaut la peine is the fixed expression “is worth it” or “is worthwhile.” Its verb is valoir (“to be worth”); vaut is the present-tense third-person singular form. Useful forms include je vaux, il/elle vaut, and ils/elles valent. The expression can be followed by de plus an infinitive: Ça vaut la peine d'attendre — “It is worth waiting.” vérifier is the infinitive “to check” or “to verify.” In vaut la peine de vérifier, de vérifier names the action that is worthwhile. The infinitive is reusable after many expressions: Il est important de vérifier — “It is important to check.” surtout si means “especially if.” si introduces a condition, and surtout emphasizes that condition. In this sentence, the verb after si is in the present: si l'étiquette mentionne... — “if the label mentions...” This does not by itself mean that the condition is certain. l'étiquette means “the label.” étiquette is a feminine noun, so its singular definite article is la; before a vowel sound, la becomes l': l'étiquette. The apostrophe is an elision of the article, not part of a separate pronoun. mentionne means “mentions” here. Its base form is mentionner; mentionne is the present indicative form for a third-person singular subject such as l'étiquette. For example, Le document mentionne une date means “The document mentions a date.” repas means “meals.” The noun has the same spelling in the singular and plural; the article shows the number: un repas means “a meal,” while les repas means “the meals.” In the fixed sentence, les repas is plural because of les. Together, Cela vaut la peine de vérifier says that checking is worthwhile. surtout si l'étiquette mentionne les repas adds the condition receiving special emphasis: this is particularly worth checking if the label mentions meals. The complete meaning is therefore “That is worth checking, especially if the label mentions meals.”

5. J'ai eu un léger mal de tête après l'avoir pris.

   I had a mild headache after taking it.

   J'ai eu

   I had

   léger

   mild

   mal de tête

   headache

   après

   after

   l'avoir pris

   having taken it

   More detail

   J'ai eu is the past form of avoir (“to have”): j'ai is the present-tense auxiliary for “I,” and eu is the past participle of avoir. Together they form the passé composé, a common way to describe a completed past event. Here it means “I had,” referring to the headache as a completed experience. léger means “mild” here. It is the adjective modifying mal, which is masculine singular, so the form is masculine singular: un léger mal. The feminine singular form is légère, as in une légère douleur (“a mild pain”). The adjective agrees with the noun it describes, not with the speaker. mal de tête is the noun expression for “headache.” In this expression, mal means a pain or ailment, while de tête specifies the body area. A useful related expression is mal au ventre (“stomachache”). après means “after” and introduces what happened earlier relative to the main event. Here it is followed by l'avoir pris, an infinitive construction rather than a finite clause. l'avoir pris means “having taken it” in this sentence. It contains avoir, the infinitive of “to have,” plus pris, the past participle of prendre (“to take”); prendre has the irregular past participle pris. The l' is an object pronoun meaning “it,” placed before the infinitive. The pattern après avoir + past participle expresses an earlier completed action: Après avoir mangé, elle est partie means “After eating, she left.” With an object pronoun, it comes before avoir, as in après l'avoir vu (“after seeing it”). The chunks combine as J'ai eu + un léger mal de tête + après l'avoir pris: “I had a mild headache after taking it.” un marks the noun phrase as indefinite; it does not by itself assert a numerical count. The sentence presents the headache as the completed experience and taking it as the earlier action.

6. Donc, je devrais en parler.

   So I should bring that up.

   Donc

   So

   je devrais

   I should

   en parler

   bring it up

   More detail

   Donc introduces a conclusion or consequence: “so” or “therefore.” At the beginning here, it links this decision to what was established earlier. Example: Il pleut, donc je reste ici. — “It is raining, so I am staying here.” je devrais combines je (“I”) with devrais, the first-person singular conditional-present form of devoir (“must / have to”). In this sentence, the conditional gives advice or a considered obligation: “I should,” rather than the stronger, more direct je dois (“I must / have to”). The form devrais agrees with the subject je; it is not an inflection of the following verb. Example: Tu devrais attendre. — “You should wait.” en parler is a reusable pattern meaning “to talk about it” or, in this context, “to bring it up.” Parler is the infinitive “to talk,” and en replaces a thing introduced with de: Je parle de ce problème. → J’en parle. — “I talk about this problem.” Here en refers to the matter that the fixed translation calls “that”; the sentence does not identify a more specific noun for it. Because parler de means “talk about,” French uses en parler rather than treating parler alone as the whole “bring it up” expression. Together, Donc (“so”) + je devrais (“I should”) + en parler (“bring it up”) gives: “So I should bring that up.” The structure is reusable as Je devrais + infinitive, with en parler as the infinitive phrase in this utterance.

7. Demande si cela pourrait être un effet secondaire et quels signes d'alerte surveiller.

   Ask whether it could be a side effect and what warning signs to watch for.

   Demande

   ask

   si

   whether

   cela

   that; it

   pourrait

   could; might

   être

   be

   effet

   effect

   secondaire

   secondary

   quels

   which; what

   signes

   signs

   alerte

   warning; alert

   surveiller

   watch; monitor

   More detail

   Demande is the singular informal imperative of demander, “to ask.” The final -e is part of this imperative form; compare present-tense tu demandes with the subject pronoun and demande as the imperative without tu. Example: Demande la date. — “Ask for the date.” si introduces an indirect yes/no question: demander si... means “ask whether...,” not “ask if” in the sense of a condition here. It can also introduce a condition in other sentences, so the surrounding verb helps identify its function. cela is an invariant demonstrative pronoun meaning “that” or “it.” In this utterance, the fixed translation supports the neutral pronoun “it,” but it does not identify a more specific referent. Unlike a noun-linked demonstrative, cela does not change for masculine/feminine or singular/plural agreement. pourrait is the third-person singular conditional form of pouvoir (“can; be able to”). pouvoir → pourrait expresses possibility here: “could” or “might,” rather than certainty. Example: Cela pourrait aider. — “That could help.” être is the infinitive of “to be.” After pourrait, the infinitive completes the possibility construction: cela pourrait être = “it could be.” The conditional marking is on pourrait, while être remains infinitive. effet is a masculine singular noun meaning “effect.” In un effet, the indefinite article marks a singular, unspecified noun phrase; it does not by itself assert a numerical count. Example: C’est un effet important. — “It is an important effect.” secondaire is an adjective meaning “secondary” here. It is masculine singular to agree with effet; the adjective, not the noun, carries this descriptive distinction. The phrase un effet secondaire is the reusable expression “a side effect.” quels is the masculine plural form of the question determiner quel (“which; what”). It agrees with the following noun signes, not with an unspecified referent. Compare quel signe (masculine singular) and quels signes (masculine plural). signes is the plural of the masculine noun signe, “sign” or “symptom.” Here it appears in signes d’alerte, meaning “warning signs.” Example: Quels signes voyez-vous ? — “What signs do you see?” alerte is a noun meaning “warning” or “alert” in signes d’alerte. The d’ is the elided form of de before a vowel, and the whole modifier identifies the signs as warning-related. This is a noun phrase, not the adjective secondaire pattern. surveiller is the infinitive “to watch,” “monitor,” or “keep an eye on.” In quels signes d’alerte surveiller, the infinitive presents the action to carry out: “which warning signs to watch for.” Example: Il faut surveiller la température. — “The temperature must be monitored.” The sentence begins with the imperative Demande, followed by two coordinated things to ask about: si cela pourrait être un effet secondaire (“whether it could be a side effect”) and quels signes d’alerte surveiller (“which warning signs to watch for”). Together, the utterance means: “Ask whether it could be a side effect and what warning signs to watch for.”

8. Faire des suppositions me semble risqué, surtout avec un médicament.

   Guessing feels risky, especially with medicine.

   Faire

   make or do

   des suppositions

   guesses

   semble

   seems or feels

   risqué

   risky

   surtout

   especially

   médicament

   medicine

   More detail

   Faire is the infinitive of faire (“to do/make”). Here an infinitive phrase functions as the subject: Faire des suppositions means “making guesses” or “guessing.” This is a reusable pattern: Faire + noun can describe an activity, as in Faire des erreurs est normal. — “Making mistakes is normal.” des suppositions means “guesses” or “assumptions.” supposition is feminine, and des marks the plural indefinite noun phrase. The expression faire des suppositions is a useful way to say “to guess” when the focus is on forming assumptions rather than knowing something directly. semble is the third-person singular present form of sembler, “to seem.” The subject is the whole infinitive phrase Faire des suppositions, treated as singular; me means “to me,” so me semble literally presents something as seeming to the speaker. Example: Cela me semble utile. — “That seems useful to me.” risqué is the masculine singular form of the adjective risqué, “risky.” Its base form is also risqué; the feminine singular is risquée, and plural forms are risqués or risquées when agreement requires them. In this sentence, the adjective describes the activity expressed by the infinitive phrase. Example: C'est risqué. — “It is risky.” surtout means “especially” and highlights the circumstance that follows. It does not itself mean “only”; it gives extra emphasis to avec un médicament. médicament is a masculine noun meaning “medicine” or “medication.” In avec un médicament, avec means “with,” and un is the masculine singular indefinite article. Here un médicament refers generally to a medicine involved in the situation; the article does not by itself assert a numerical count of one. Example: Ce médicament est nouveau. — “This medicine is new.” Together, Faire des suppositions me semble risqué means “Guessing feels risky”: the activity of making guesses seems risky to the speaker. surtout avec un médicament adds the especially relevant circumstance, producing the complete meaning: “Guessing feels risky, especially with medicine.”

9. Un professionnel peut expliquer les risques plus clairement.

   A professional can explain the risks more clearly.

   Un

   a/an

   professionnel

   professional

   peut

   can

   expliquer

   explain

   risques

   risks

   plus clairement

   more clearly

   More detail

   Un introduces a singular, masculine noun phrase here: un professionnel. It is an indefinite article, so it presents the person as a professional without stating a numeric count. The feminine counterpart is une when the noun is feminine. Example: Une professionnelle peut aider. — “A female professional can help.” professionnel is a noun here, meaning “professional,” a person with professional expertise. It can also be an adjective in other sentences, where it describes a noun; its form then agrees with that noun: un conseil professionnel — “professional advice.” In the fixed sentence, it is the person who can perform the action. peut is the third-person singular present form of pouvoir, “to be able to” or “can.” The pattern subject + peut + infinitive expresses present ability or possibility. The following verb remains in the infinitive: Il peut répondre. — “He can answer.” Other present forms include je peux — “I can” and vous pouvez — “you can” or “you can” formally/plurally. expliquer is an infinitive meaning “to explain.” After peut, it names the action that is possible: peut expliquer means “can explain.” The infinitive does not show a separate subject or tense here; peut carries the present-tense, third-person-singular marking. Example: Elle peut expliquer la règle. — “She can explain the rule.” risques is the plural of the noun risque, “risk.” In the fixed sentence, the risks are the thing being explained. The plural marking is on the noun: un risque — “a risk,” des risques — “risks.” The complete object is les risques, where les is the definite plural article, meaning “the risks”; the supplied quote contains only the noun risques. plus clairement is a comparative adverbial expression meaning “more clearly.” clairement means “clearly,” and plus makes the comparison: expliquer plus clairement — “explain more clearly.” The adverb modifies how the explaining is done, not the risks. Example: Elle parle plus clairement maintenant. — “She speaks more clearly now.” Together, Un professionnel is the subject, peut expliquer expresses the ability to explain, les risques is what is explained, and plus clairement describes the manner. The whole utterance means: “A professional can explain the risks more clearly.”

10. Je peux noter les questions avant d'appeler.

    I can write down the questions before calling.

    Je peux

    I can

    noter

    write down

    les questions

    the questions

    avant d'appeler

    before calling

    More detail

    Je peux combines the subject pronoun je (“I”) with peux, the first-person singular present form of pouvoir (“can; to be able to”). In this sentence, it presents writing down the questions as something the speaker is able to do, and the following verb stays in the infinitive. Compare Tu peux noter... (“You can write down...”), where pouvoir agrees with tu. noter is an infinitive meaning “to write down” in this sentence. It can also mean “to note” or “to record,” depending on what is being recorded. After a conjugated form of pouvoir, use the infinitive: Je peux noter... (“I can write down...”); do not use a separately conjugated form after peux. les questions means “the questions.” questions is the plural of the feminine noun question, and les is the definite article used with plural nouns. The definite article presents these questions as identifiable in the situation, rather than as unspecified questions. Example: Je lis les questions. — “I am reading the questions.” avant d'appeler means “before calling.” avant de introduces an action that occurs earlier; before a vowel sound, de contracts to d', giving d'appeler. appeler is the infinitive “to call.” Example: Avant de partir, je vérifie mon sac. — “Before leaving, I check my bag.” Together, Je peux noter les questions says “I can write down the questions,” and avant d'appeler places that action before calling. The complete utterance therefore means: “I can write down the questions before calling.”

11. Cela devrait rendre l'appel plus facile à suivre.

    That should make the call easier to follow.

    Cela

    that

    devrait

    should

    rendre

    make

    l'appel

    the call

    plus facile

    easier

    suivre

    follow

    More detail

    Cela is a demonstrative pronoun meaning “that” here. It is singular, but the sentence does not identify exactly what “that” refers to. A useful contrast is cela for a more neutral or somewhat distant reference and ce in common patterns such as C'est utile (“That/It is useful” or “This is useful”). devrait is the third-person singular present conditional of devoir. In this sentence, the conditional gives the expectation “should,” rather than the stronger obligation often expressed by present-tense doit (“must” or “has to”). Example: Cela devrait aider. — “That should help.” rendre is the infinitive “to make” in the construction rendre + object + adjective: it describes causing the object to have a quality. Example: Cette option rend le travail plus simple. — “This option makes the work simpler.” l'appel means “the call” here. The noun is appel, and it is masculine; the definite article le is elided to l' before the vowel at the beginning of appel. The same noun can refer to a phone call or another kind of call when the context supports that meaning. plus facile means “easier.” Facile is the adjective “easy”; plus facile is its comparative form, literally “more easy.” The comparison is expressed with plus, while the adjective itself remains facile. Its opposite is difficile (“difficult”): C'est plus difficile. — “It is more difficult.” suivre is the infinitive “to follow.” In facile à suivre, the pattern adjective + à + infinitive says that something is easy to do or follow: un itinéraire facile à suivre — “an easy route to follow.” Together, rendre l'appel plus facile à suivre means “make the call easier to follow”: the call is the object whose quality changes, and à suivre specifies what becomes easier. With Cela devrait, the complete utterance means “That should make the call easier to follow.”