Learn French: Dans une minute, la représentation finit, le rideau tombe et le public applaudit. - In one minute, the performance finishes, the curtain falls and the audience applauds.

Dans une minute, la représentation finit, le rideau tombe et le public applaudit.

In one minute, the performance finishes, the curtain falls and the audience applauds.

Breakdown of Dans une minute, la représentation finit, le rideau tombe et le public applaudit.

Questions & Answers about Dans une minute, la représentation finit, le rideau tombe et le public applaudit.

Why is it Dans une minute instead of En une minute?

When you want to say that an event will happen "in [amount of time] from now," you use dans. You use en to talk about the length of time it takes to complete an action (like running a race in one minute). Because the performance is ending one minute from now, dans is the right choice.

Why are the verbs (finit, tombe, applaudit) in the present tense if this happens in the future?

Just like in English ("the performance finishes in one minute"), French often uses the present tense for events happening in the very near future or on a set schedule. You could use the near future here (like va finir), but the present tense makes the action feel immediate and certain.

Why is "audience" translated as le public instead of l'audience?

Le public is the standard French term for the audience at a live event like a play, concert, or movie. The French word audience is a "false friend": it usually refers to a formal legal hearing or the viewership/listenership of a TV or radio broadcast.

Both finit and applaudit end in -it. Are they conjugated exactly the same way?