Breakdown of Enfin, vous pouvez peindre le mur.
vous
you (plural/formal)
pouvoir
to be able to / can
enfin
finally, at last
le mur
the wall
peindre
to paint
Questions & Answers about Enfin, vous pouvez peindre le mur.
Does enfin just mean 'finally' like at the end of a list of steps?
Yes! In this context, enfin is a sequential connector used to introduce the last step in a sequence (like 'first do this, then that, and enfin, paint the wall'). French speakers also use enfin to express relief (like 'At last!'), but here it strictly means 'lastly'.
Can I put enfin at the end of the sentence instead?
Why is peindre left in its infinitive (unconjugated) form?
Because it directly follows the conjugated verb pouvez. Just like in English ('you can paint', not 'you can paints'), when you use a verb like pouvoir (to be able to), vouloir (to want), or devoir (to have to) followed by an action, the second verb always stays in its full infinitive form.
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