Question 1

How exactly is d'abord used in this sentence?

Accepted Answer

D'abord means "first" or "first of all." As the lesson covers, it is a sequential connector used to introduce the very first action in a series of events. You will usually see it placed at the beginning of the sentence, followed by a comma, to set up the next steps (which might use ensuite or puis).

Question 2

Why does d'abord have an apostrophe?

Accepted Answer

It is a mandatory contraction of the preposition de (of/from) and the noun abord (an approach or outset). Because abord starts with a vowel, de drops its "e" and becomes d'.

Question 3

Why do we use pour before travailler?

Accepted Answer

In English, we often just use "to" when we mean "in order to" (like "I take a hammer [in order] to work"). In French, whenever you want to express the purpose or goal of an action, you must use pour followed by the infinitive (unconjugated) form of the verb (travailler).

Question 4

I always forget the conjugation for prendre. Is prends regular here?

Accepted Answer

Prendre (to take) is an irregular verb, but its singular forms are fairly easy to remember. With je and tu, it ends in -ds (je prends, tu prends), and with il/elle/on it ends in -d (il prend). Be careful with the plural forms later on, as they drop the "d" entirely!

Question 5

How can I easily remember if marteau (hammer) is masculine or feminine?

Accepted Answer

It is masculine (un marteau). A very helpful rule of thumb is that almost all French nouns ending in -eau are masculine (such as un bateau or un oiseau). The most common exception you need to watch out for is the word for water itself, which is feminine: une eau.

D'abord, je prends un marteau pour travailler.

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