Log inSign up

Nous espérons que le professeur répète la phrase.

Nous espérons que le professeur répète la phrase.
We hope that the teacher repeats the sentence.
From Lesson 83:Accent stem changes (é to è)·French

Questions & Answers about Nous espérons que le professeur répète la phrase.

Why is it espérons with an é (accent aigu) and not an è?
Espérer (to hope) is a stem-changing verb where the é changes to an è (accent grave), but only when the spoken stress falls on that part of the word. In the nous and vous forms, the stress is on the ending (-ons or -ez), so the accent stays as an é: nous espérons.
Why does the spelling change to répète here, if the infinitive is répéter?
Just like espérer, répéter (to repeat) changes its é to an è when the spoken stress falls on that syllable. Because le professeur is an "he" or "she" (third-person singular), the -e ending is silent. This makes the stress fall heavily on the -pèt- part, so it becomes répète.
Wait, répéter has two és. Why didn't the first one change?
In stem-changing verbs that have an é, only the last é in the stem changes to an è. The first é in répéter stays exactly the same no matter who the subject is.
Do I have to include que? In English, I'd usually just say "We hope the teacher repeats the sentence."
Yes, you must include it! In English, we often drop the word "that" in sentences like this. In French, you can never skip the connecting word que.

Learn Nous espérons que le professeur répète la phrase and more in French

All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.

  • ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
  • ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
  • ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free
Start learning French →