Question 1

Why does partir become nous partons? Doesn't it need an -iss- in the middle like finir?

Accepted Answer

Partir (to leave) is an irregular -ir verb. Unlike regular -ir verbs that add an -iss- sound in the plural (like nous finissons), verbs like partir, sortir, and dormir skip it. For nous, you just drop the -ir and add -ons, giving us nous partons.

Question 2

Why use emportons for 'taking'? Couldn't we use prenons (from prendre)?

Accepted Answer

You could, but emporter is much better here! While prendre means 'to take' in a general sense, emporter specifically means 'to take along' or 'to take with you' when you leave a place.

Question 3

Why is it nos billets instead of notre billets?

Accepted Answer

In French, possessive words like 'our' have to match the noun they describe. Because billets (tickets) is plural, you must use the plural form nos. If you only had one ticket, it would be notre billet.

Question 4

Do I pronounce the 's' at the end of nous in nous emportons?

Accepted Answer

Yes! Because the next word (emportons) starts with a vowel, you must make a liaison (a smooth spoken connection). The 's' at the end of nous connects to the vowel and sounds like a 'z'. However, you don't do this for nous partons because partons starts with a consonant.

Question 5

The English translation says 'we are taking' and 'we are leaving'. Where is the word for 'are' in French?

Accepted Answer

French doesn't have an exact match for the English '-ing' tense (the present continuous). The simple present tense in French does double duty. So, nous partons means both 'we leave' and 'we are leaving'! You never translate the 'are' separately.

Nous emportons nos billets parce que nous partons.

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