Describing symptoms objectively | Learn French in English

Sentence explanations

1. La gêne est légère, mais elle dure plus longtemps que d’habitude.

   The discomfort is mild, but it has lasted longer than usual.

   gêne

   discomfort

   légère

   mild

   dure

   lasts

   plus longtemps

   longer

   que d’habitude

   than usual

   More detail

   gêne is a feminine noun meaning “discomfort” here. The same noun can also refer to embarrassment or inconvenience, but the fixed translation supports the physical-symptom sense. Its gender matters for the adjective that describes it: une gêne légère. légère is the feminine singular form of the adjective léger (“mild,” “light”). It agrees with the feminine singular noun gêne; the adjective is not based on the noun. Compare un symptôme léger with une gêne légère. dure is the third-person singular present form of durer (“to last”). The subject is elle, referring here to the discomfort identified by the translation. French present tense can describe a situation that is currently continuing, so this form is naturally rendered in the fixed translation as “has lasted.” For example, La douleur dure deux jours means “The pain lasts for two days” or, in a current situation, “The pain has lasted for two days.” plus longtemps is a comparative expression meaning “for longer.” It uses longtemps (“for a long time”) with plus to indicate a greater duration. This is a comparison of duration, not a comparison of the discomfort's intensity. For example, Il reste plus longtemps means “He stays longer.” que d’habitude completes the comparison: que means “than,” and d’habitude means “usually” or “than usual.” The apostrophe in d’habitude represents the elision of de before the vowel of habitude. The pattern plus ... que ... commonly expresses “more ... than ...”; with plus longtemps, it specifically compares duration with the normal or customary duration. Together, La gêne est légère says that the discomfort is mild. mais introduces a contrast, and elle dure plus longtemps que d’habitude says that this mild discomfort continues for a longer time than is customary. The complete meaning is: “The discomfort is mild, but it has lasted longer than usual.”

2. Est-ce que cela change avec l’activité, le repos ou les repas ?

   Does it change with activity, rest, or meals?

   Est-ce que

   Does …?

   cela

   it; that

   change

   changes

   l’activité

   activity

   le repos

   rest

   les repas

   meals

   More detail

   Est-ce que is a standard French frame for forming a yes/no question. It does not itself mean “does” as an independent verb; it signals that the following clause is being asked as a question. Pattern: Est-ce que + subject + verb. Example: Est-ce que tu viens ? — “Are you coming?” cela is a neutral demonstrative pronoun meaning “that” or “it.” Here, it refers to the thing being discussed, with the supplied translation presenting it as the changing condition. Cela is grammatically singular, so the following verb is singular. In everyday speech, ça is a common less-formal alternative to cela. change comes from changer, “to change” or “to vary.” It is the present-tense third-person singular form: il/elle/on/cela change. In this question, it asks whether the condition varies under different circumstances. The useful pattern is changer avec + a circumstance or factor: Le résultat change avec la température. — “The result changes with temperature.” l’activité means “activity.” The noun is feminine singular, but its article is l’ because the vowel at the beginning of activité causes the singular article la to be shortened by elision: la activité is not used. The accent in activité is part of the spelling. le repos means “rest.” Repos is a masculine singular noun, shown by le. In this sentence it names a circumstance used with avec, parallel to l’activité and les repas. les repas means “meals.” Repas is plural here, so it takes the plural article les; the form repas is spelled the same in the singular and plural, while the article shows the number: un repas — “a meal”; des repas — “meals.” Taken together, Est-ce que cela change asks whether the condition varies. Avec introduces the factors being compared, and l’activité, le repos, and les repas name activity, rest, and meals. The complete meaning is: “Does it change with activity, rest, or meals?”

3. Je la remarque davantage quand je reste assis longtemps.

   I notice it more when I sit for a long time.

   Je

   I

   la

   it

   remarque

   notice

   davantage

   more

   quand

   when

   reste

   stay

   assis

   seated

   longtemps

   for a long time

   More detail

   Je is the first-person singular subject pronoun: “I.” It is used for one speaker, regardless of the speaker’s gender. Example: Je remarque la différence. — “I notice the difference.” la is a feminine singular direct-object pronoun. Here it means “it,” referring to the thing being noticed; the supplied sentence does not identify that thing more specifically. The form agrees grammatically with the object, not with Je. Compare le for a masculine singular object and les for plural objects. remarque is the present-tense first-person singular form of remarquer, “to notice.” The ending is selected because the subject is Je: je remarque. Example: Je remarque un changement. — “I notice a change.” davantage is a comparative adverb meaning “more” or “to a greater extent.” Je la remarque davantage means “I notice it more,” with the comparison understood from the situation. A common alternative is plus, as in Je la remarque plus. quand introduces a time clause and means “when.” It connects the noticing with the time at which the speaker remains seated. Example: Je tousse quand je parle longtemps. — “I cough when I speak for a long time.” reste is the present-tense first-person singular form of rester, “to stay” or “to remain.” With Je, the form is je reste. Example: Je reste ici. — “I stay here.” assis means “seated” or “sitting.” It is the masculine singular form of the adjective; the feminine singular form is assise. In je reste assis, it describes the speaker’s state while remaining seated. The visible form marks masculine singular, but the sentence does not independently identify the speaker’s gender. longtemps is an adverb meaning “for a long time” or “a long time.” It modifies the duration of reste assis, not the degree expressed by davantage. Example: Je reste debout longtemps. — “I remain standing for a long time.” Together, Je la remarque davantage means “I notice it more.” quand je reste assis longtemps adds the time condition “when I sit for a long time.” The whole utterance is therefore: “I notice it more when I sit for a long time.”

4. Ce schéma mérite d’être signalé, et le clinicien pourra l’évaluer correctement.

   That pattern is worth mentioning, and the clinician can assess it properly.

   Ce

   that

   schéma

   pattern

   mérite

   deserves

   d’être signalé

   to be mentioned

   le clinicien

   the clinician

   pourra

   will be able to; can

   l’évaluer

   assess it

   correctement

   properly

   More detail

   Ce is the masculine singular demonstrative determiner: it means “that” here and agrees with schéma. Compare cette with a feminine singular noun and ces with a plural noun. The demonstrative identifies the pattern being discussed; it does not itself express a numeric count. schéma means “pattern” here. It is a masculine singular noun, which is why the determiner and the passive participle later appear in masculine singular forms. The same word can also mean a diagram or outline in other contexts. mérite is the third-person singular present form of mériter, “to deserve” or “to be worth.” In this sentence, mériter de is followed by an infinitive: mériter de + infinitive means “to deserve/to be worth doing.” Example: Ce point mérite d’être discuté. means “This point is worth discussing.” d’être signalé contains de plus the infinitive être, followed by the past participle signalé. This is a passive construction: the pattern is worth being pointed out, naturally translated here as “is worth mentioning.” signalé agrees in masculine singular with schéma; it is not the form of the noun. With a feminine singular subject, the participle would be signalée. le clinicien means “the clinician.” le is the masculine singular definite article, and clinicien is a masculine singular noun in this utterance. The article presents the clinician as an identifiable participant here; it does not express a quantity. pourra is the third-person singular future form of pouvoir, “to be able to/can.” French future forms can express a future ability, while English may use either “will be able to” or, as in the fixed translation here, “can.” Example: Il pourra répondre. means “He will be able to answer.” l’évaluer is the infinitive évaluer, “to assess/evaluate,” with the direct-object pronoun le elided to l’ before the vowel. Here that pronoun refers to schéma, matching the fixed meaning’s “it.” The structure pouvoir + infinitive gives pourra l’évaluer: “will be able to assess it.” The pronoun comes before the infinitive, not after it. correctement is an adverb meaning “properly/correctly.” It modifies the action of assessing, so the sentence specifies how the clinician will assess the pattern. The adjective correct is related in form and meaning, but correctement is the form used to modify a verb. Together, Ce schéma mérite d’être signalé says “That pattern is worth mentioning.” The conjunction et links this to le clinicien pourra l’évaluer correctement, meaning “the clinician can assess it properly” in the fixed translation. The complete utterance says that the pattern is worth mentioning and that the clinician can assess it properly.

5. J’essaie de la décrire sans la faire paraître plus grave ou moins sérieuse qu’elle ne l’est.

   I am trying to describe it without making it sound worse or less serious than it is.

   J’essaie

   I am trying

   la décrire

   describe it

   sans

   without

   faire paraître

   make seem

   plus grave

   more serious

   moins sérieuse

   less serious

   qu’elle ne l’est

   than it is

   More detail

   J’essaie contains essaie, the present-tense first-person singular form of essayer (“to try”). The subject is the speaker: j’ is the shortened form of je before a vowel sound. essayer de introduces the action being attempted: J’essaie de comprendre. — “I am trying to understand.” la décrire means “to describe it.” décrire is the infinitive, and la is a feminine singular direct-object pronoun placed before it. Here it refers to the thing being described, with the fixed translation rendering that thing as “it.” The pronoun’s gender is grammatical French information; English it does not show that distinction. The pattern essayer de + infinitive is reusable: J’essaie de l’expliquer. — “I am trying to explain it.” sans means “without” and is followed here by an infinitive construction. sans + infinitive describes an action that is not performed: Il est parti sans répondre. — “He left without answering.” faire paraître is a causative construction: faire (“to make”) plus paraître (“to seem” or “appear”). Together here they mean “make it seem” or “make it sound.” The object affected by this construction is placed before the infinitive: Cela le fait paraître calme. — “That makes him seem calm.” In the fixed sentence, la is the affected feminine singular object, and it appears before faire in la faire paraître. plus grave means “more serious” in this context. grave is an adjective; its base form is grave, and plus grave is the comparative formed with plus (“more”). Grave has the same spelling for masculine and feminine singular forms, so its spelling here does not by itself show the gender of the thing described. Example: Cette situation paraît plus grave. — “This situation seems more serious.” moins sérieuse means “less serious.” sérieuse is the feminine singular form of sérieux; the adjective changes spelling to agree with a feminine singular noun or pronoun. Its comparison is formed with moins (“less”): une réponse moins sérieuse — “a less serious answer.” Do not treat sérieuse as the base form: the masculine dictionary form is sérieux, while sérieuse is the observed feminine form. qu’elle ne l’est introduces the comparison “than it is.” qu’ is the shortened form of que before a vowel. elle is a feminine singular subject pronoun, and l’ is a pronoun standing for the adjective complement after est (“is”): literally, the clause says “than it is [that way].” In a comparative clause such as plus grand qu’il ne l’est, ne commonly occurs without ordinary negation; it does not turn the comparison into “than it is not.” Here the feminine forms connect the comparison with the same entity being described, while its exact real-world referent is not named in this utterance. The whole structure is J’essaie de + [describe it] + sans + [make it seem more serious or less serious than it is]. Thus the speaker is attempting to describe the entity accurately and avoid making its seriousness appear either greater or smaller than its actual seriousness. plus ... ou moins ... que ... presents the two directions of comparison, and qu’elle ne l’est supplies the standard against which both descriptions are measured.

6. Concentrez-vous sur la fréquence à laquelle cela se produit et sur ses effets sur vous.

   Focus on how often it happens and how it affects you.

   Concentrez-vous

   focus

   sur

   on/about

   la fréquence

   the frequency

   à laquelle

   at which/how ...

   cela

   this/it

   se produit

   happens/occurs

   ses

   its

   effets

   effects

   sur vous

   on you

   More detail

   Concentrez-vous means “focus.” It is the imperative of se concentrer for vous: concentrez is the present form of concentrer, and -vous is the reflexive pronoun. The same form can address one person politely or several people. Example: Concentrez-vous sur la question. — “Focus on the question.” sur introduces what attention is directed toward; here it is the subject being examined. It commonly means “on” or “about” in this pattern. Example: Parlez sur ce sujet. — “Talk about this subject.” la fréquence means “the frequency,” that is, how often something occurs. The noun is feminine, which is why the article is la. Example: La fréquence des visites augmente. — “The frequency of the visits is increasing.” à laquelle introduces a relative clause referring to the feminine singular noun fréquence. laquelle is the feminine singular relative form, and à is required by the expression à quelle fréquence / “at what frequency.” Together here, the phrase means “at which” or, more naturally, “how often.” Compare à laquelle with plural auxquelles when the antecedent is feminine plural. cela is a demonstrative pronoun meaning “this” or “it.” In this sentence it is the subject of se produit; the supplied translation supports the meaning “it,” but does not identify a more specific referent. Example: Cela arrive souvent. — “This happens often.” se produit means “happens” or “occurs.” It is the third-person singular present form of the pronominal verb se produire: cela se produit. The verb is not simply the form of produire used without se; the reflexive element belongs to this verb’s meaning here. Example: Le problème se produit la nuit. — “The problem occurs at night.” ses marks possession of a plural noun by one possessor. Here it agrees with plural effets, not with the possessor: ses effets means “its effects.” Depending on context, ses can also mean “his” or “her”; the fixed translation selects “its” here. Do not confuse it with ces, meaning “these/those.” effets is the plural of the masculine noun effet, meaning “effects.” The plural ending is visible in effets, and ses also signals that more than one effect is being referred to. Example: Les effets sont importants. — “The effects are important.” sur vous means “on you” in the intended expression. vous is the pronoun used here after the preposition sur; it can refer to one person addressed formally or to several people. The phrase does not by itself specify which of those possibilities applies. The sentence is assembled as Concentrez-vous sur ...: “Focus on ...” The first object of focus is la fréquence à laquelle cela se produit, literally “the frequency at which this happens,” naturally “how often it happens.” The second is ses effets sur vous, “its effects on you.” Thus the whole utterance means: “Focus on how often it happens and how it affects you.”

7. Je peux expliquer que j’ai plus de mal à me concentrer au travail.

   I can explain that it makes it harder to concentrate at work.

   Je peux

   I can

   expliquer

   to explain

   j’ai

   I have

   plus de mal

   more difficulty

   me concentrer

   to concentrate

   travail

   work

   More detail

   Je peux means “I can” here. peux is the first-person singular present form of pouvoir (“to be able to/can”); je peux is followed by an infinitive: Je peux expliquer = “I can explain.” Compare je peux with il peut (“he/she can”), where the verb form changes with the subject. expliquer is the infinitive “to explain.” After a conjugated form of pouvoir, the next verb remains in the infinitive: Je peux expliquer = “I can explain.” Example: Je peux attendre. — “I can wait.” j’ai means “I have” here. It is avoir in the first-person singular present: j’ai, from je plus the elided form j’ before the vowel-initial form ai. In this sentence, avoir belongs to the expression avoir du mal à + infinitive, meaning “to have difficulty doing something.” plus de mal is the comparative part of avoir plus de mal à...: “to have more difficulty...” or “to find it harder...” The comparison is carried by plus; mal is part of this difficulty expression here, not the adjective “bad.” Example: J’ai moins de mal à comprendre. — “I have less difficulty understanding.” me concentrer means “to concentrate.” concentrer is the verb, and me is the first-person reflexive pronoun used with it. With avoir du mal à, the infinitive follows à: j’ai du mal à me concentrer = “I have difficulty concentrating.” The reflexive form changes with the subject; for example, se concentrer is used with a third-person subject. travail means “work” here. In the source, the location expression is au travail, meaning “at work.” au is the contraction of à le; travail is masculine singular, so à le travail becomes au travail. Together, Je peux expliquer introduces the content that the speaker can explain. que introduces j’ai plus de mal à me concentrer au travail: the speaker has more difficulty concentrating at work. Thus the whole utterance means: “I can explain that it makes it harder to concentrate at work.”

8. Ajoutez ce détail, car l’impact quotidien guide souvent le suivi.

   Include that detail, since daily impact often guides follow-up.

   Ajoutez

   add / include

   ce

   this

   détail

   detail

   car

   because / since

   l’impact

   impact

   quotidien

   daily

   guide

   guides

   souvent

   often

   le suivi

   follow-up

   More detail

   Ajoutez is the imperative of ajouter (“to add”). It addresses one person formally or several people, using the same form as present-tense vous ajoutez; the directive use comes from its position as the clause’s verb. Example: Ajoutez votre nom. — “Add your name.” ce is the masculine singular demonstrative determiner “this/that.” Here it agrees with the masculine singular noun détail, producing ce détail. The related forms are cette with a feminine singular noun and ces with a plural noun; before a vowel sound, masculine singular uses cet. détail is the noun “detail.” In this sentence it is the thing being added. Example: Un détail peut être important. — “A detail can be important.” car is a conjunction meaning “because” or “since.” It introduces the reason for the preceding instruction and normally links two complete clauses without changing the word order of the second clause. Example: Je viens, car tu m’attends. — “I’m coming because you’re waiting for me.” l’impact means “the impact.” The noun is masculine singular: the article le becomes l’ before the vowel sound at the start of impact. This elision is spelling and pronunciation behavior, not a change in the noun’s gender. quotidien is the masculine singular adjective “daily,” agreeing with masculine singular impact. Its feminine singular form is quotidienne, as in une activité quotidienne (“a daily activity”). Here impact quotidien means “daily impact.” guide is the third-person singular present form of guider, “to guide.” Its subject is l’impact, which is singular, so the verb has the singular form. The present tense presents this as a general pattern: daily impact often guides follow-up. Example: Ce résultat guide la décision. — “This result guides the decision.” souvent is the adverb “often.” It indicates repeated frequency and modifies guide here. Example: Elle vient souvent. — “She often comes.” le suivi is the masculine singular noun phrase “follow-up.” With the article le, suivi is functioning as a noun here, not as a verb. It can refer broadly to subsequent monitoring or follow-up work, depending on context. The related verb suivre means “to follow,” but it should not be substituted for the noun phrase in this sentence. Together, Ajoutez ce détail gives the instruction “Include this detail.” car then introduces its reason: l’impact quotidien is the subject, guide is the singular present verb, souvent marks frequency, and le suivi is what it guides. The complete meaning is: “Include that detail, since daily impact often guides follow-up.”