Learn French: J'ai attendu mon copain devant le cinéma. - I waited for my friend in front of the cinema.

J'ai attendu mon copain devant le cinéma.

I waited for my friend in front of the cinema.

Breakdown of J'ai attendu mon copain devant le cinéma.

avoir

to have

le cinéma

the movie theater / the cinema

mon

my (mon, ma, mes)

Questions & Answers about J'ai attendu mon copain devant le cinéma.

How is the past tense formed for the verb "attendre" in this sentence?

The verb attendre (to wait) is a regular verb ending in -re. To form its past participle in the passé composé, you drop the -re and add -u to get attendu. Then, you use it with the matching present tense form of the helper verb avoir, which gives us J'ai attendu (I waited).

Why is there no word for "for" in the French sentence, since the English says "waited for"?

In French, the verb attendre already means "to wait for". You do not need to add a preposition like pour. You just put the person or thing you are waiting for directly after the verb, as in attendu mon copain. Adding pour here is a very common mistake for English speakers!

Does mon copain mean "my friend" or "my boyfriend"?

It can actually mean either! In French, un copain (or une copine for a female) is often used for a friend, but it can also mean a romantic partner depending on the context. If a French speaker wants to be perfectly clear they just mean a platonic friend, they might use mon ami.

Could I use avant instead of devant to say "in front of"?

No, because they measure different things! Devant is used for physical location, meaning "in front of" (like standing in front of the cinema). Avant is used for time, meaning "before" (like arriving before the movie starts).