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Pourquoi est-ce que vous sortez vos pantalons du sac à dos ?

Pourquoi est-ce que vous sortez vos pantalons du sac à dos ?
Why are you taking your pants out of the backpack?
From Lesson 65:Irregular -ir verbs (sortir, partir, dormir)·French

Questions & Answers about Pourquoi est-ce que vous sortez vos pantalons du sac à dos ?

Doesn't sortir usually mean to go out? Why does it mean taking out here?
Yes! Sortir is an irregular -ir verb that often means to go out. However, when you use it with an object (something you are taking), it translates to taking something out. Here, you are taking out vos pantalons. Since the subject is vous, the verb is conjugated as sortez.
Why do we add est-ce que after Pourquoi?
Est-ce que is a common phrase used to turn a statement into a question, similar to how we use do or are in English. Putting it right after a question word like Pourquoi lets you keep the rest of the sentence in its normal subject-verb order (vous sortez) without having to flip the words.
Does vos pantalons mean one pair of pants or multiple pairs?
It means multiple pairs! In English, pants is always plural, even for just one pair. But in French, one pair of pants is singular (un pantalon). Because this sentence uses the plural vos (your) and adds an s to pantalons, we know there is more than one pair involved.
Why does the sentence use du before sac à dos?
To say you are taking the pants out of the backpack, you need the word de (of or from). Because sac à dos is a masculine word, it uses the article le (the). In French, de and le must combine into the single word du. You will never see de le written together!

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