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Les vacances commencent bientôt.

Les vacances commencent bientôt.
The vacation starts soon.
From Lesson 23:Standard questions (est-ce que)·French

Breakdown of Les vacances commencent bientôt.

les vacances
the vacation / the holidays
bientôt
soon
commencer
to start

Questions & Answers about Les vacances commencent bientôt.

Why is les vacances plural when the English translation says "the vacation" (singular)?
In French, the word for a school or work break, les vacances, is almost always plural. Because it is a plural noun, it takes the plural article les (the).
Why does the verb commencent have an "-ent" at the end?
Since les vacances is plural, you have to treat it like "they". Commencent is the "they" form of the verb commencer (to start). Even though it has an -ent added to the end, those letters are completely silent, so it sounds exactly like the singular form commence.
How do I turn this sentence into a question asking when the vacation starts, using this lesson's rules?
To ask a "when" question, put the question word quand (when) at the very beginning, add est-ce que, and then plug in the rest of the statement. This gives you: Quand est-ce que les vacances commencent ?
Does bientôt literally mean "well early"?
It originally comes from joining bien (well/very) and tôt (early), but today it is just a standard, single word that simply means "soon".

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