Learn French: Nous faisons la queue à la boulangerie.

Nous faisons la queue à la boulangerie.

We are queuing at the bakery.

Breakdown of Nous faisons la queue à la boulangerie.

la boulangerie

the bakery

at / to / in (general locations) / about (what one thinks about / reacts to)

faire la queue

to queue, to stand in line

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Questions & Answers about Nous faisons la queue à la boulangerie.

Why does this sentence use faisons instead of a specific verb for "queuing"?

In French, the everyday expression for "to wait in line" or "to queue" is faire la queue (literally: to make the tail). Since the subject is nous (we), we use the matching present tense form of faire, which is faisons.

What does la queue literally mean?

It literally means "the tail". When you think about it, a line of people waiting does look a bit like a tail! So nous faisons la queue translates word-for-word to "we are making the tail".

How do you pronounce faisons? Does the "ai" make an "eh" sound?

Surprisingly, no! Even though it is spelled with "ai", the first syllable of faisons is pronounced with a soft "uh" sound (like the "e" in the English word "the"). It sounds closer to "fuh-zohn". This is a unique pronunciation exception for the verb faire.

Why do we use à la before boulangerie?

To say "at the" in French, you need the preposition à (at) plus a definite article (the). Because boulangerie (bakery) is a feminine word, you use la, giving you à la. If the place were a masculine word, like supermarché (supermarket), you would use au instead.