Clarifying Priorities with a Dependency Map | Learn French in English

Sentence explanations

1. La discussion est devenue tendue quand les gens ont commencé à classer les priorités de chacun.

   The discussion got tense once people started ranking everyone's priorities.

   discussion

   discussion

   est devenue

   became

   tendue

   tense

   les gens

   people

   ont commencé

   started

   classer

   rank

   les priorités

   the priorities

   de chacun

   everyone’s

   More detail

   discussion is a feminine singular noun meaning “discussion.” Its plural is discussions; the feminine gender matters because the adjective later agrees with it. est devenue comes from devenir, “to become.” Here it is the third-person singular passé composé: est + devenue. Devenir uses être in this tense, and the past participle devenue is feminine singular because its subject is la discussion. Compare la situation est devenue difficile (“the situation became difficult”). tendue is the feminine singular form of the adjective tendu, “tense” or “strained.” The ending -e agrees with feminine discussion; the adjective describes the discussion’s atmosphere here, not physical tightness. With a masculine singular noun, the form would be tendu. les gens means “people.” gens is normally used in the plural, so this expression takes plural les. In this sentence, it refers generally to the people who began the action; their individual identities are not specified. ont commencé comes from commencer, “to start” or “to begin.” It is the third-person plural passé composé: ont + commencé. French commonly uses commencer à + an infinitive for “to start doing something”: Ils ont commencé à parler means “They started talking.” classer is the infinitive “to rank,” “to sort,” or “to classify.” After commencer à, it names the action that people started. Here, the intended action is ranking priorities, not merely putting unrelated objects into categories. les priorités means “the priorities.” Priorité is a feminine noun, and les marks its plural definite form. The plural is appropriate because the sentence discusses priorities belonging to each person, rather than one single priority. de chacun means “of each person” or, in this context, “everyone’s.” Chacun refers to people individually and is grammatically singular, even though the overall meaning can cover a group. Its feminine counterpart is chacune when the form refers to feminine individuals in a context that requires that agreement. The pattern les priorités de chacun expresses priorities associated with each person. Together, la discussion est devenue tendue says that the discussion became tense. Quand introduces the time point or situation, and les gens ont commencé à classer les priorités de chacun says that people started ranking everyone’s priorities. The full meaning is: “The discussion got tense once people started ranking everyone’s priorities.”

2. On aurait dit que certaines équipes avaient l'impression que leur travail était relégué au second plan.

   It sounded like some teams felt their work was being pushed aside.

   On aurait dit

   It sounded like

   certaines

   some

   équipes

   teams

   avaient l'impression

   had the impression

   leur

   their

   travail

   work

   était relégué

   was being pushed aside

   au second plan

   into the background

   More detail

   On aurait dit is a reusable impersonal expression meaning “it sounded/seemed like” here. On does not identify a particular person in this sentence. aurait is the conditional form of avoir, and dit is the past participle of dire; together, aurait dit is the conditional perfect. Example: On aurait dit qu'il pleuvait. — “It sounded as if it were raining.” Certaines means “some” and is the feminine plural form of certain, matching the noun équipes. It presents part of a larger group without specifying exactly which members. The masculine plural counterpart is certains. Équipes is the plural of équipe, “team.” French nouns have grammatical gender: équipe is feminine, and its plural is formed with -s. Example: Certaines équipes travaillent ensemble. — “Some teams work together.” Avaient l'impression uses the imperfect form avaient of avoir with the noun impression. The expression avoir l'impression que... means “to have the impression that...” or “to feel that...” The imperfect places this perception in progress or as a background state in the past. Example: Ils avaient l'impression que la réunion durait trop longtemps. — “They felt that the meeting was lasting too long.” Leur is a possessive determiner before the singular noun travail. Its form is singular because the possessed noun is singular; it does not by itself show whether one person or several people possess it. With a plural possessed noun, use leurs: leur travail — “their work,” but leurs tâches — “their tasks.” Travail means “work” here and is a masculine singular noun. Its plural is travaux, an irregular plural form. Example: Leur travail est important. — “Their work is important.” Était relégué describes the work as receiving an action: était is the imperfect of être, and relégué is the past participle of reléguer, “to push or relegate to a less important position.” This is a passive construction, so relégué agrees with travail in masculine singular. The imperfect presents that situation as ongoing or developing in the past. Example: Le projet était relégué au second plan. — “The project was being pushed aside.” Au second plan is a fixed-looking placement expression meaning “in the background” or “in a secondary position.” Au combines à and le; second is masculine singular because it modifies the masculine noun plan. Example: La sécurité ne doit pas passer au second plan. — “Safety must not be pushed into the background.” Together, On aurait dit que introduces an impression rather than a direct assertion. Certaines équipes avaient l'impression que identifies the teams’ perception, and leur travail était relégué au second plan says that their work seemed to be treated as less important. The complete meaning is: “It sounded like some teams felt their work was being pushed aside.”

3. Cela peut nuire à la confiance, même si personne ne le voulait.

   That can hurt trust, even if nobody meant it that way.

   Cela

   that

   peut

   can

   nuire à

   harm / be harmful to

   la confiance

   trust

   même si

   even if

   personne

   nobody

   le

   it

   voulait

   meant / intended

   More detail

   Cela is a demonstrative pronoun meaning “that” or “this.” Here it points to the situation or action under discussion; the supplied sentence does not identify it more specifically. Unlike a demonstrative adjective, it stands alone. A common pattern is Cela + verb: Cela m’aide. — “That helps me.” peut is the third-person singular present form of pouvoir (“can,” “to be able to”). With an infinitive, peut + infinitive expresses possibility or potential: Cela peut changer. — “That can change.” The subject of peut is Cela. nuire à is an infinitive construction meaning “to harm” or “to be harmful to.” The preposition à is part of the construction, so the affected thing follows it: Le bruit peut nuire au sommeil. — “Noise can harm sleep.” The related present form with a third-person singular subject is nuit, as in Cela nuit à la qualité. — “That harms quality.” la confiance means “trust” or “confidence” in this context. Confiance is a feminine noun, shown by the article la; the gender belongs to the noun, not to the preceding verb. The phrase nuire à la confiance therefore means “harm trust.” même si introduces a concession: “even if” or “even though.” French normally uses an indicative form after si in this construction, rather than the subjunctive. For example, Même s’il pleut, nous partirons. — “Even if it rains, we will leave.” personne means “nobody” here and is the subject of the subordinate clause. In a negative clause, French commonly uses ne ... personne: Personne ne répond. — “Nobody answers.” The negative element ne appears after personne in this sentence because personne is placed first. le is a masculine singular direct-object pronoun meaning “it” here. It refers to the intended object of voulait, but the fixed input does not identify that object more specifically. The pronoun replaces a masculine singular noun or a masculine-singular referent; it is not the article le in this position. voulait is the third-person singular imperfect form of vouloir (“to want” or “to intend”). The imperfect presents the wanting or intention as ongoing or viewed in the past: Il voulait aider. — “He wanted to help.” With personne as the grammatical subject, personne ne le voulait means “nobody wanted it” or, with the fixed translation’s intended sense, “nobody meant it that way.” Together, Cela peut nuire à la confiance says “That can hurt trust.” même si personne ne le voulait adds the concession “even if nobody meant it that way.” The whole utterance is therefore: “That can hurt trust, even if nobody meant it that way.”

4. Nous devrions peut-être distinguer les dépendances de l'importance avant la prochaine réunion.

   Maybe we should separate dependencies from importance before the next meeting.

   Nous devrions

   we should

   peut-être

   maybe

   distinguer

   distinguish; separate

   dépendances

   dependencies

   importance

   importance

   avant

   before

   prochaine

   next; upcoming

   réunion

   meeting

   More detail

   Nous devrions means “we should” here. devrions is the present conditional of devoir, with the first-person plural subject nous: nous devons means “we must/need to,” while nous devrions presents the action as advisable rather than as a firm obligation. The reusable pattern is nous devrions + infinitive, as in Nous devrions vérifier cela. — “We should check that.” peut-être means “maybe” or “perhaps.” It expresses uncertainty about the proposal. In this sentence it modifies the whole suggestion, rather than being part of the verb distinguer. distinguer is the infinitive “to distinguish” or, in this context, “to separate.” The pattern distinguer A de B means “to distinguish or separate A from B.” The infinitive follows devrions because a conjugated verb such as devoir is followed by the infinitive of the proposed action. dépendances means “dependencies.” Its singular base form is dépendance; the final -s marks the plural here. In project or planning language, a dependency is something that another task or decision relies on. Example: Il faut identifier les dépendances. — “We need to identify the dependencies.” importance means “importance.” It is a feminine noun, and the source uses it in the phrase de l'importance, literally “of the importance,” as the second element of distinguer ... de ...: distinguer les dépendances de l'importance means “separate dependencies from importance.” The article l' is the elided form of feminine la before a vowel; it does not indicate a numerical quantity. avant means “before.” It introduces the time phrase avant la prochaine réunion, so the proposed separation is to happen earlier than that meeting. For a sequence rather than a time relation, French commonly uses avant de + infinitive, as in Avant de commencer, vérifions les dépendances. — “Before starting, let’s check the dependencies.” prochaine means “next” or “upcoming” in this context. It is the feminine singular form of the adjective prochain, agreeing with the feminine singular noun réunion. This adjective precedes the noun in the source phrase: la prochaine réunion — “the next meeting.” réunion means “meeting.” Its plural is réunions. The phrase la prochaine réunion identifies a meeting that is next or upcoming in the relevant sequence; the sentence does not specify its exact date. Together, Nous devrions peut-être frames a cautious suggestion: “Maybe we should.” distinguer les dépendances de l'importance states the proposed action, separating dependencies from importance, and avant la prochaine réunion sets a time relation: the action is to occur before the next meeting. The complete meaning is: “Maybe we should separate dependencies from importance before the next meeting.”

5. Certaines tâches doivent être réalisées en premier.

   Some tasks need to happen first.

   Certaines

   some

   tâches

   tasks

   doivent

   need to

   être réalisées

   be completed

   en premier

   first

   More detail

   Certaines means “some” and is the feminine plural form of the indefinite determiner certain. It agrees with the plural feminine noun tâches; it does not state an exact number. Compare certains with a masculine plural noun. tâches is the plural of tâche, “task.” The plural ending is written -s, although the final consonant is not pronounced in this form. Example: Une tâche est urgente. — “One task is urgent.” doivent is the third-person plural present form of devoir, “to need to” or “must.” With certaines tâches as its subject, it expresses necessity: “they need to.” The useful present-tense chain is je dois, tu dois, il/elle doit, nous devons, vous devez, ils/elles doivent. être réalisées is an infinitive passive construction. être is “to be,” and réalisées is the feminine plural past participle of réaliser, “to carry out” or “complete.” Because the tasks are the things carried out, French uses the passive meaning “be carried out/completed”; réalisées agrees with feminine plural tâches. The masculine plural form would be réalisés when the passive subject is masculine plural. Example: Les étapes doivent être réalisées dans l’ordre. — “The steps need to be completed in order.” en premier is an adverbial expression meaning “first,” here describing the required order or priority of completion. It is not the adjective premier directly modifying a noun; with a noun, French can use forms such as la première tâche (“the first task”). Together, Certaines tâches identifies some tasks, doivent être réalisées says that they need to be completed, and en premier places those completions first in the relevant order. The whole utterance therefore means: “Some tasks need to happen first.”

6. Mais cela ne leur donne pas plus de valeur.

   But that does not make them more valuable.

   Mais

   But

   cela

   that

   ne … pas

   does not

   leur

   them

   donne

   gives

   plus

   more

   valeur

   value

   More detail

   Mais marks a contrast with something already established. It commonly corresponds to “but,” while cependant is another useful contrast word with a somewhat different placement and style. cela is a demonstrative pronoun meaning “that” or “that situation.” It can stand alone rather than modifying a noun. Here, the fixed translation supports the reading “that” as the thing being evaluated; it does not identify a more specific referent inside this sentence. ne ... pas forms standard French negation around a conjugated verb. In this sentence, ne comes before donne and pas after it, together giving “does not give.” In less formal speech, ne is often omitted, but the complete written pattern is ne + verb + pas. leur is the indirect-object pronoun for “to them” or, with verbs such as donner, simply “them” in the English translation. It is the plural counterpart of lui and does not change for the gender of the people or things referred to. Here, the translation and the preceding context support reading it as referring to the tasks already mentioned. Example: Je leur parle. — “I speak to them.” donne is the third-person singular present form of donner, “to give.” The base form is donner; its present forms include je donne, tu donnes, il/elle/on donne, and ils/elles donnent. In donner quelque chose à quelqu’un, the thing given is the direct object and the recipient is introduced by à, which can be represented by lui or leur. Example: Cette méthode donne plus de temps à l’équipe. — “This method gives the team more time.” plus means “more” and marks comparison. It is used before a quantity or before de plus a noun, as in plus de valeur (“more value”). With an adjective, it forms a comparative: plus utile means “more useful.” Its opposite in this comparison is moins (“less”). valeur is a feminine noun meaning “value” or “worth.” The expression donner de la valeur à means “to give value to” or “to make something more valuable.” In plus de valeur, the preposition de follows the comparative quantity word plus; it is not an article expressing a fixed count. Together, cela ne leur donne pas plus de valeur means “that does not give them more value,” naturally rendered by the fixed translation as “that does not make them more valuable.” Mais contrasts this conclusion with the preceding idea: “But that does not make them more valuable.”

7. Je peux préparer une carte des dépendances avant notre prochaine réunion.

   I can put together a dependency map before we meet again.

   Je peux

   I can

   préparer

   to prepare; to put together

   carte

   map

   dépendances

   dependencies

   avant

   before

   notre

   our

   prochaine

   next

   réunion

   meeting

   More detail

   Je peux expresses the speaker’s ability or possibility: “I can.” peux is the first-person singular present form of pouvoir (je peux, tu peux, il/elle peut). The subject pronoun Je identifies the speaker. Example: Je peux venir demain. — “I can come tomorrow.” préparer is an infinitive meaning “to prepare” or, here, “to put together.” After pouvoir, French uses an infinitive: Je peux préparer... means “I can prepare...” rather than using a second conjugated verb. Example: Nous pouvons préparer le rapport. — “We can prepare the report.” carte means “map.” It is a feminine singular noun: une carte. In this utterance, it is used figuratively for a visual or organized representation, as in a dependency map. Example: Cette carte est claire. — “This map is clear.” dépendances means “dependencies.” It is the plural of the feminine noun dépendance; the final -s marks the plural in writing. Here it refers to relationships of dependence between elements. The group une carte des dépendances means “a dependency map”: des links the map to what it represents. avant means “before.” It introduces the event or time that follows: avant notre prochaine réunion means “before our next meeting.” Example: Appelez-moi avant midi. — “Call me before noon.” notre means “our” before one singular possessed noun. French possessive adjectives agree with the thing possessed, not with the possessor: notre réunion uses notre because réunion is singular; with a plural noun, use nos, as in nos réunions (“our meetings”). prochaine means “next” here, referring to the meeting that comes after the current one. It is the feminine singular form of prochain, agreeing with the feminine singular noun réunion. Example: la prochaine étape — “the next step.” réunion means “meeting.” It is a feminine singular noun: une réunion. In this context, notre prochaine réunion means “our next meeting,” without specifying its date or participants. Together, Je peux préparer une carte des dépendances means “I can put together a dependency map.” The time phrase avant notre prochaine réunion adds the deadline or intended timing: “before we meet again.” The complete utterance is therefore: “I can put together a dependency map before we meet again.”

8. Cela devrait permettre de garder la discussion concrète plutôt que personnelle.

   That should keep the discussion concrete instead of personal.

   Cela

   That

   devrait

   should

   permettre

   enable

   garder

   keep

   discussion

   discussion

   concrète

   concrete

   plutôt que

   rather than

   personnelle

   personal

   More detail

   Cela is a demonstrative pronoun meaning “that” here. It refers to an idea or proposal already established in the context, without identifying a specific noun inside this sentence. French demonstrative pronouns include cela, ça (more informal), and ceci; the choice here is compatible with a neutral written style. devrait is the conditional form of devoir for third-person singular. Here devoir does not express an obligation; with an infinitive, the conditional gives the expected or intended result: “should.” Compare doit permettre (“must / is supposed to enable”) with devrait permettre (“should enable”). Example: Cette méthode devrait fonctionner. — “This method should work.” permettre is an infinitive meaning “to enable” or “to allow.” The reusable pattern is permettre de + infinitive: Cela permet de comparer les résultats. — “That makes it possible to compare the results.” In this sentence, devrait governs permettre, so the possibility is presented as expected rather than certain. garder is an infinitive meaning “to keep” or “to maintain.” After permettre de, it names the action made possible: permettre de garder quelque chose ... means “enable someone or something to keep something ...”. Example: Cette règle permet de garder le texte court. — “This rule keeps the text short” or, more literally, “This rule makes it possible to keep the text short.” la discussion means “the discussion.” Discussion is a feminine noun, shown by the article la; its gender is grammatical and is not a numerical statement. The noun can be reused in patterns such as une discussion sérieuse (“a serious discussion”) and la discussion sur ce sujet (“the discussion about this topic”). concrète means “concrete” here, in the sense of focused on specific, practical matters. It is the feminine singular form of the adjective concret: concret with a masculine singular noun, concrète with a feminine singular noun. The final -e agrees with feminine discussion; the adjective is not derived from the noun. Example: une solution concrète — “a concrete solution.” plutôt que is a comparison and contrast expression meaning “rather than” or “instead of.” It introduces the alternative that is rejected or given less preference. The pattern is X plutôt que Y: parler des faits plutôt que des impressions — “to talk about facts rather than impressions.” personnelle means “personal” here, describing the discussion as personal rather than concrete. It is the feminine singular form of personnel, agreeing with feminine singular discussion: un avis personnel but une discussion personnelle. This adjective can describe something connected with an individual’s own views or circumstances; its exact force depends on the noun and context. Together, Cela devrait permettre de garder la discussion concrète plutôt que personnelle means “That should keep the discussion concrete instead of personal.” The structure is demonstrative pronoun + conditional of devoir + permettre de + infinitive + direct object + adjective + plutôt que + contrasting adjective: the established idea is expected to make it possible for the discussion to remain focused on concrete matters instead of becoming personal. The sentence presents this as an expected effect, not an absolute guarantee.

9. Ainsi, les gens pourront fonder la discussion sur les mêmes informations, et pas seulement sur leurs frustrations.

   Then people can base the discussion on the same information, not just their frustrations.

   Ainsi

   Then; so

   les gens

   people

   pourront

   will be able to; can

   fonder

   base

   la discussion

   the discussion

   sur

   on

   mêmes

   same

   informations

   information

   et pas seulement

   and not only; not just

   leurs

   their

   frustrations

   frustrations

   More detail

   Ainsi introduces a consequence or conclusion. Here it means “then” in the sense of “as a result,” linking this sentence to the preceding idea. Example: Ainsi, nous pouvons commencer. — “So, we can begin.” les gens means “people.” gens is a plural noun and normally takes the plural article les; it refers to people generally here, without identifying a particular group. Example: Les gens attendent. — “People are waiting.” pourront is the future form of pouvoir (“to be able to; can”) for a third-person plural subject: ils/elles pourront. The future form presents the ability or possibility as applying later or as a consequence: “will be able to.” Example: Ils pourront répondre demain. — “They will be able to answer tomorrow.” fonder is the infinitive “to base” or “to found.” In pourront fonder, the infinitive follows the conjugated form of pouvoir; the people are the understood agents of both verbs. The reusable pattern is pouvoir + infinitive: Nous pouvons comparer. — “We can compare.” la discussion means “the discussion.” discussion is a feminine singular noun, shown by la; its gender is a grammatical property of the noun, not a statement about the content of the discussion. Example: La discussion continue. — “The discussion continues.” sur is the preposition “on” in the construction fonder quelque chose sur quelque chose — “to base something on something.” Thus fonder la discussion sur ... means “base the discussion on ...”. Example: Elle fonde sa décision sur les faits. — “She bases her decision on the facts.” mêmes means “same.” It is the plural form of même here because it modifies the plural noun informations; the plural is marked by -s. The phrase les mêmes informations means that the information is shared or identical in the relevant comparison. Example: Nous avons les mêmes objectifs. — “We have the same goals.” informations means “information” here. French commonly uses information as a countable feminine noun, so the plural form informations can refer to multiple pieces or items of information. The adjective mêmes agrees with this noun in number: both are plural. Example: Ces informations sont utiles. — “This information is useful.” et pas seulement means “and not only” or “and not just.” pas seulement limits the first basis by saying that it is not the sole one. In this sentence, it introduces a contrast with another possible basis for the discussion. Example: Il écoute les faits, et pas seulement les opinions. — “He listens to the facts, and not just the opinions.” leurs means “their” before a plural noun. It indicates possession by a plural possessor, while its form does not change to match the number of possessors; the following noun is plural here. Example: Ils présentent leurs idées. — “They present their ideas.” frustrations means “frustrations.” It is the plural of the feminine noun frustration; the plural ending is -s. Here it names the people’s frustrations as a possible basis of discussion, contrasted with the same information. Together, Ainsi, les gens pourront fonder la discussion sur les mêmes informations means “Then people will be able to base the discussion on the same information.” The pattern pouvoir + infinitive expresses ability, fonder ... sur ... identifies what the discussion is based on, and les mêmes informations specifies the shared basis. et pas seulement sur leurs frustrations adds that this basis should not be limited to their frustrations: the discussion can be based on the same information, not just on those frustrations.