Question 1

Why is it au théâtre instead of à le théâtre?

Accepted Answer

In French, the preposition à (to) and the masculine word for "the" (le) must combine into the single word au. You will never say or write à le. Since théâtre is a masculine noun, "to the theater" becomes au théâtre.

Question 2

The translation says "are going", but I only see allons. Where is the word for "are"?

Accepted Answer

French doesn't have a separate "-ing" tense like English does. The single verb allons translates to both "go" and "are going". So, Nous allons handles the whole meaning of "We are going" all by itself.

Question 3

The translation says "tonight", but doesn't ce mean "this"?

Accepted Answer

Yes! ce means "this" and soir means "evening". So ce soir literally means "this evening", which is the exact way French people express the English idea of "tonight".

Question 4

Should I pronounce the 's' at the end of Nous?

Accepted Answer

Yes, you will pronounce it like a "z" sound here. Because the next word (allons) starts with a vowel, the normally silent 's' on Nous connects to it. This sound connection is called a liaison, making the first two words sound like "noo-zah-lohn".

Nous allons au théâtre ce soir.

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