Building Employee Buy-In for Policy Changes | Learn French in English

Sentence explanations

1. Les politiques échouent souvent quand les employés ont l’impression qu’on leur impose les changements.

   Policies tend to fail when employees feel changes are being imposed on them.

   Les politiques

   policies

   échouent

   fail

   souvent

   often

   quand

   when

   les employés

   employees

   ont l’impression

   feel; have the impression

   impose

   imposes

   les changements

   the changes

   More detail

   Les politiques is a plural noun phrase: politique means “policy” here, and les marks the plural definite noun phrase. The adjective-like form politiques can also mean “political” in other contexts, but here the noun meaning is clear from the translation and sentence. échouent comes from échouer, “to fail.” It is present tense, third-person plural, agreeing with Les politiques: elles échouent. Compare the useful contrast la politique échoue (“the policy fails”) and les politiques échouent (“the policies fail”). souvent means “often.” It modifies the failure as recurring or typical, without saying that failure happens every time. Example: Les plans échouent souvent. — “Plans often fail.” quand introduces the condition or time under which the first clause applies: “when.” A reusable pattern is X échoue quand Y — “X fails when Y.” les employés means “the employees.” employé is the singular noun and employés is its masculine plural form; this form can also function as a generic plural for a mixed group, but the sentence itself does not specify the employees’ gender. ont l’impression is the third-person plural present form of avoir plus the noun impression: literally, “have the impression,” and here naturally “feel.” The useful construction is avoir l’impression que + clause, meaning “to feel that …” or “to have the impression that ….” The subject of ont is les employés, so the plural form is used. Example: Nous avons l’impression que le plan fonctionne. — “We feel that the plan is working.” In qu’on leur impose les changements, qu’ is the shortened form of que before on. on is the grammatical subject of impose; in this sentence it has the impersonal meaning “someone/people” or “they,” rather than identifying a specific person. leur is an indirect-object pronoun meaning “to them,” referring to the employees identified in the translation. It does not change for masculine or feminine gender. impose comes from imposer, “to impose.” It is present tense, third-person singular, because its subject is on: on impose. The reusable pattern is imposer quelque chose à quelqu’un, “to impose something on someone.” Here les changements is the thing imposed, while leur represents the people affected. Example: On leur impose une nouvelle règle. — “A new rule is imposed on them” or, more literally, “Someone imposes a new rule on them.” les changements means “the changes.” changement is the singular noun and changements is its masculine plural form; les marks the plural definite noun phrase. In this construction, the changes are the direct object of impose. Together, Les politiques échouent souvent means “Policies often fail.” The subordinate clause quand les employés ont l’impression qu’on leur impose les changements adds the condition: “when employees feel that the changes are being imposed on them.” The complete utterance therefore means: “Policies tend to fail when employees feel changes are being imposed on them.”

2. Les gens sont plus susceptibles de s’adapter quand ils ont réellement leur mot à dire dans le processus.

   People are more likely to adjust when they have a real say in the process.

   Les gens

   people

   plus susceptibles

   more likely

   s’adapter

   to adjust; to adapt

   quand

   when

   ils ont

   they have

   réellement

   really

   leur mot à dire

   a say in the matter

   processus

   process

   More detail

   Les gens means “people” here. gens is a plural noun for people in general; the usual singular noun for one person is personne. The article les is used with this plural group. plus susceptibles means “more likely”. The adjective susceptibles agrees with the plural noun gens; its base form is susceptible. plus marks the comparative, so plus susceptible(s) de + infinitive is a useful pattern for “more likely to …”. The comparison is relative: this sentence says that adaptation is more likely under the stated condition, without specifying the other situation being compared. s’adapter means “to adapt” or “to adjust”. It is the infinitive of the pronominal verb s’adapter; the s’ is part of that verb form. A reusable pattern is s’adapter à quelque chose (“to adapt to something”), for example: Elle s’adapte rapidement au changement. — “She adapts quickly to the change.” quand introduces the time or condition at which something happens: “when”. Here it introduces the condition associated with greater likelihood. It does not itself mean “because”; any causal connection comes from the overall meaning. ils ont means “they have”. ont is the third-person plural present form of avoir (“to have”), and ils is the subject pronoun “they”. In this sentence, ils refers to Les gens, the people mentioned at the beginning. Compare ils ont (“they have”) with ils sont (“they are”), which uses être instead. réellement means “really” or “genuinely”. It is an adverb emphasizing that having a say is genuine rather than merely nominal. The related adjective réel means “real”, but réellement is the form used to modify the clause here. leur mot à dire is the French idiomatic expression for “a say” or “a voice in the matter”. Literally, it contains leur (“their”), mot (“word”), and à dire (“to say”), but the expression means participation in a decision or process, not one physical word. A reusable pattern is avoir son mot à dire dans … — “to have a say in …”. Example: Les étudiants ont leur mot à dire dans la décision. — “The students have a say in the decision.” In the fixed sentence, leur signals multiple possessors; it does not agree in number or gender with those possessors. The singular possessed noun mot determines the form leur rather than leurs. processus means “process”. It is a masculine noun; le processus is singular and les processus is plural, with the same written form. Here, dans le processus identifies the process in which the people have a say; the definite article presents it as the process relevant to the discussion. Together, Les gens sont plus susceptibles de s’adapter says “People are more likely to adapt”. quand ils ont réellement leur mot à dire dans le processus adds the condition “when they genuinely have a say in the process”. The full utterance therefore means: “People are more likely to adjust when they have a real say in the process.”

3. Nous pourrions demander des suggestions avant de finaliser le plan.

   We could invite suggestions before we finalize the plan.

   Nous pourrions

   We could

   demander

   to ask for

   suggestions

   suggestions

   avant de

   before

   finaliser

   to finalize

   plan

   plan

   More detail

   Nous pourrions combines nous (“we”) with pourrions, the first-person plural conditional form of pouvoir (“can; be able to”). Here it expresses a possible course of action: “we could.” Compare nous pouvons (“we can”) for present ability or a more direct option, and nous pourrions for a more tentative proposal. Example: Nous pourrions commencer demain. — “We could start tomorrow.” demander is the infinitive of “ask” or “request.” In this sentence, it introduces the action proposed by pourrions; the following words specify what is being requested. A useful pattern is demander quelque chose (“ask for something”) or demander à quelqu’un (“ask someone”). Example: Je vais demander de l’aide. — “I am going to ask for help.” suggestions is the plural of the feminine noun suggestion, meaning ideas or proposals offered for consideration. The plural indicates more than one suggestion, while the noun itself does not identify who will provide them. Example: Nous avons reçu plusieurs suggestions. — “We received several suggestions.” avant de means “before” when it is followed by an infinitive. The pattern avant de + infinitive places one action earlier than another: avant de partir means “before leaving.” Example: Lisez les instructions avant de commencer. — “Read the instructions before starting.” finaliser is an infinitive meaning “to finalize” or “to complete the last steps of.” In avant de finaliser, it names the later action that has not yet been completed at the reference point. Example: Ils doivent finaliser le document. — “They have to finalize the document.” plan is a masculine noun meaning “plan.” In the full noun phrase le plan, le marks this noun as masculine singular and means “the”; the quoted word itself is the noun. Example: Le plan est simple. — “The plan is simple.” Together, Nous pourrions demander des suggestions means “We could ask for suggestions.” avant de finaliser le plan adds the timing: this request would happen before the group finalizes the plan. The complete utterance therefore means, “We could invite suggestions before we finalize the plan.”

4. Cela ferait ressortir des problèmes pratiques que nous ne voyons peut-être pas d’ici.

   That would bring up practical issues we might not see from here.

   Cela

   that / it

   ferait ressortir

   would bring out

   problèmes

   problems

   pratiques

   practical

   voyons

   see

   peut-être

   maybe

   d’ici

   from here

   More detail

   Cela is a demonstrative pronoun meaning “that” or “it.” Here it points to the situation or action under discussion; the supplied translation supports that general reading without identifying a more specific referent. Unlike a demonstrative determiner, it stands on its own. ferait ressortir is the construction faire ressortir, “to bring out,” “to reveal,” or “to highlight.” ferait is the third-person singular conditional form of faire; ressortir remains an infinitive. The conditional presents the result as possible or hypothetical: “would bring out.” Compare Cela fait ressortir un problème (“That brings out a problem”) with Cela ferait ressortir un problème (“That would bring out a problem”). problèmes is the plural of problème, “problem” or “issue.” The plural marking shows that more than one issue is meant here. It appears with the plural indefinite article des in des problèmes; this article marks an indefinite plural noun phrase, but it does not by itself specify an exact number. pratiques means “practical” here. It is the plural form of the adjective pratique, agreeing with the plural noun problèmes. The adjective’s plural ending is visible, but its form does not distinguish masculine plural from feminine plural; in this phrase, agreement is masculine plural because problèmes is masculine plural. For example, des solutions pratiques means “practical solutions.” que introduces the relative clause describing the issues: des problèmes pratiques que ... means “practical issues that ...”. Its role connects the issues to the later clause; it does not mean “what” in this sentence. nous voyons means “we see.” voyons is the first-person plural present form of voir; its subject is nous. The negative frame ne ... pas surrounds this verb phrase: nous ne voyons pas means “we do not see.” For example, Nous voyons le problème means “We see the problem,” while Nous ne voyons pas le problème means “We do not see the problem.” peut-être means “perhaps” or “maybe.” It makes the seeing uncertain: the issues may not be visible to the speakers. In this sentence it appears inside the negative relative clause, so the meaning is that they may not see the issues, not that the act of bringing them out is itself uncertain because of this adverb. d’ici means “from here.” It is the contraction of de and ici; ici means “here,” and de marks the starting point or viewpoint. The phrase establishes the speakers’ perspective: they may not see the issues from their current position or standpoint. Together, Cela ferait ressortir des problèmes pratiques means “That would bring out practical issues.” The relative clause que nous ne voyons peut-être pas d’ici specifies those issues as ones that “we might not see from here.” The complete utterance therefore means: “That would bring up practical issues we might not see from here.”

5. Cela donne aussi aux gens davantage de raisons de se soucier du résultat.

   It also gives people more reason to care about the outcome.

   Cela

   that / this

   donne

   gives

   aussi

   also

   gens

   people

   davantage

   more

   raisons

   reasons

   se soucier

   to care

   résultat

   outcome

   More detail

   Cela is an invariable demonstrative pronoun meaning “this” or “that.” Here it is the subject translated as “it”; the supplied texts do not identify a more specific noun that it refers to. Unlike a demonstrative adjective, it does not change for gender or number. donne is the present-tense third-person singular form of donner, “to give.” The subject is Cela, so the verb is singular. Useful forms include je donne “I give,” nous donnons “we give,” and ils donnent “they give.” aussi means “also” and adds this result to something already mentioned. In this sentence it comes after the verb: Cela donne aussi... means “It also gives...” gens is the plural noun “people.” It normally refers to people as a group; its singular counterpart is not formed by removing the final letter, but is commonly personne when referring to one person. In the fixed sentence, aux gens means “to people”; aux combines à with plural les. davantage is an adverb meaning “more.” A reusable pattern is davantage de + noun: davantage de temps means “more time.” Here it modifies the following noun phrase rather than describing how the giving happens. raisons is the plural of the feminine noun raison, “reason.” The plural ending is visible in raisons. Une raison means “one reason,” while plusieurs raisons means “several reasons.” The French sentence explicitly uses the plural, although the fixed English translation uses singular “reason” in a natural collective expression. se soucier is the pronominal infinitive “to care about.” It is used with de: se soucier de quelque chose means “to care about something.” In the sentence, de is combined with le before the masculine noun résultat, producing du. Compare je me soucie de... “I care about...” and ils se soucient de... “they care about...” résultat is a masculine noun meaning “result” or “outcome.” The phrase du résultat means “about the outcome” here: du is de le, and résultat is the noun governed by de after se soucier. Putting the parts together, Cela donne aussi aux gens means “It also gives people,” davantage de raisons means “more reasons,” and de se soucier du résultat identifies what those reasons are for: caring about the outcome. The complete meaning is “It also gives people more reason to care about the outcome.”

6. Un plan réalisable nécessite quand même que les gens se sentent impliqués.

   A workable plan still needs people to feel invested.

   plan

   plan

   réalisable

   workable; feasible

   nécessite

   needs; requires

   quand même

   still; nevertheless

   les gens

   people

   se sentent

   feel

   impliqués

   invested; involved

   More detail

   plan means “plan” here. It is a masculine noun: un plan uses the masculine singular indefinite article. The article marks an unspecified plan; it does not by itself assert that there is exactly one. Example: un plan simple means “a simple plan.” réalisable describes the plan as feasible or workable. It is an adjective, and its masculine singular form agrees with masculine singular plan; its feminine singular form is réalisable as well, while the plural is réalisables. Do not confuse it with réalisé, which usually means “completed” or “carried out.” nécessite is the present-tense third-person singular form of nécessiter, “to require” or “to need.” The singular subject here is un plan, so the verb is singular. A useful pattern is X nécessite Y = “X requires Y.” With a following clause, French uses nécessiter que plus the subjunctive: Cela nécessite que chacun participe means “That requires everyone to participate.” quand même is an adverbial construction meaning “still” here. It marks a fact that remains true despite a possible expectation to the contrary. In this sentence it modifies the requirement expressed by nécessite; it is not part of the meaning of plan or réalisable. les gens means “people.” gens is a plural noun and normally appears with a plural determiner such as les in this phrase. It is a general reference to people, without specifying their identities or number beyond plurality. se sentent is the pronominal verb form of se sentir, “to feel,” in the present subjunctive, third-person plural. The subjunctive is triggered here by nécessite que: que les gens se sentent... means “that people feel...” The pronoun se belongs to the verb and refers back to the plural subject les gens; it is not a separate object with an independently named referent. Compare the non-pronominal verb sentir, “to feel or sense something”: Ils sentent le vent means “They feel the wind.” impliqués is a masculine plural past participle used adjectivally, meaning “involved” or, in this context, “invested.” It agrees with the plural subject les gens. The feminine plural form is impliquées, as in les personnes impliquées (“the involved people”). Here the form describes the state people should feel themselves to be in; it does not mean that they physically participated in a specific action. Putting the parts together, Un plan réalisable gives the subject “a workable plan,” and nécessite quand même says that it still requires something. The clause que les gens se sentent impliqués supplies that requirement: “that people feel invested.” The complete meaning is therefore “A workable plan still needs people to feel invested.”

7. Le plus difficile, c’est de garder la discussion constructive et précise.

   The hard part is keeping the discussion constructive and specific.

   Le plus difficile

   the hardest part

   c’est

   it is

   garder

   to keep

   discussion

   discussion

   constructive

   constructive

   précise

   specific; precise

   More detail

   Le plus difficile means “the hardest part” here. difficile is the adjective in its singular form, and le plus + adjective forms a superlative: “the most difficult.” French can use this adjective phrase as a noun-like expression without stating a separate noun such as aspect or élément. c’est is ce + est, literally “it is.” In this pattern, c’est de + infinitive identifies an activity as the difficult part. For example: Le plus important, c’est de commencer. — “The most important thing is to start.” garder is the infinitive “to keep” or “to maintain.” After c’est de, the infinitive names the activity being identified. Here it takes la discussion as its direct object. discussion is a feminine singular noun meaning “discussion.” The definite article la is part of the noun phrase in the full sentence; the noun itself names the discussion being maintained. constructive describes the discussion as productive and helpful rather than merely critical. It is the feminine singular form of constructif; the final -e agrees with feminine singular discussion. Example: une remarque constructive — “a constructive comment.” précise means “specific” or “precise” here. It is the feminine singular form of précis, agreeing with discussion; it does not agree with garder. Example: une question précise — “a specific question.” Together, garder la discussion constructive et précise means “to keep the discussion constructive and specific.” The structure Le plus difficile, c’est de + infinitive then presents that activity as the hardest part, giving the complete meaning: “The hard part is keeping the discussion constructive and specific.”

8. Alors, nous devrions poser des questions ciblées plutôt que de solliciter des retours très généraux.

   Then we should ask focused questions instead of making a broad feedback request.

   Alors

   Then

   nous devrions

   we should

   poser

   ask

   questions

   questions

   ciblées

   focused

   plutôt que de

   rather than

   solliciter

   request

   retours

   feedback

   généraux

   general

   More detail

   Alors means “then” here and can introduce a conclusion or proposed next step. In other contexts it can also mean “so” or “at that time,” but this sentence uses it to move from the preceding point to a recommendation. nous devrions combines nous (“we”) with the conditional present of devoir, whose base form is devoir. devrions expresses a recommendation or what would be advisable: “we should.” The conditional form is useful for making advice less categorical than a direct command. Example: Nous devrions vérifier les résultats. — “We should check the results.” poser is the infinitive of poser, “to put” or, in the fixed expression poser une question, “to ask a question.” After devrions, French uses the infinitive: nous devrions poser, not a second finite verb. Example: Elle pose une question précise. — “She asks a precise question.” questions is the plural of question, “question.” The construction poser des questions means “to ask questions”; des is the plural indefinite article and does not by itself state a specific number. ciblées means “focused” or “targeted” here. It is the feminine plural form of ciblé, agreeing with feminine plural questions; the adjective is based on cibler, “to target.” Example: Nous préparons des questions ciblées. — “We are preparing focused questions.” plutôt que de introduces an alternative that is preferred less or rejected in favor of the first action. Before an infinitive, the pattern is plutôt que de + infinitive: “rather than doing.” Example: Je vais répondre plutôt que de rester silencieuse. — “I am going to answer rather than remain silent.” solliciter is an infinitive meaning “to request,” “to seek,” or “to solicit” something from someone. It is somewhat more formal than ordinary demander in many contexts. Here it names the alternative action after plutôt que de: requesting feedback. retours is the plural of retour. In this context, un retour means feedback or a response, not a physical return. French commonly uses demander or solliciter des retours for asking for feedback. Example: Nous attendons vos retours. — “We are waiting for your feedback.” généraux means “general” or “broad” here. It is the masculine plural form of général, agreeing with masculine plural retours. The related feminine plural form is générales, as in des remarques générales (“general remarks”); the ending follows the noun being described. Taken together, nous devrions poser des questions ciblées means “we should ask focused questions.” plutôt que de solliciter des retours très généraux contrasts that action with requesting very broad feedback. Thus the whole utterance means: “Then we should ask focused questions instead of making a broad feedback request.”