Log inSign up

Tu mets le fichier ici et tu l'effaces.

Tu mets le fichier ici et tu l'effaces.
You put the file here and you erase it.
From Lesson 87:Irregular action verbs (écrire, mettre)·French

Questions & Answers about Tu mets le fichier ici et tu l'effaces.

Why is there an "s" at the end of mets?
Mettre (to put) is an irregular verb, which is the focus of this lesson. In the present tense with tu (you), the correct form is tu mets. Even though it ends in "ts", those last two letters are silent, so it is pronounced roughly like "meh".
What does the l' in tu l'effaces stand for?
It means "it" and refers back to le fichier (the file). It is actually the direct object pronoun le, but because the following verb (effaces) starts with a vowel, the "e" is dropped to make it l'.
Why is the word for "it" (l') placed before the verb?
In French, object pronouns like le, la, and les almost always go before the verb they are connected to. So, instead of saying "you erase it" like in English, French sets up the sentence as "you it erase" (tu l'effaces).
Is effaces an irregular verb too?
No, it comes from the regular -er verb effacer (to erase). Since the subject is tu, we drop the -er and add the standard -es ending. Just remember that the "-es" at the end is completely silent!

Learn Tu mets le fichier ici et tu l'effaces 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 →