Breakdown of J'ai arrosé leur potager pendant un mois.
je
I
un
a / an (masculine)
avoir
to have
leur
their (singular and plural forms: leur, leurs)
le mois
the month
pendant
for / during (duration)
le potager
the vegetable garden
arroser
to water
Questions & Answers about J'ai arrosé leur potager pendant un mois.
Why is 'for a month' translated as pendant un mois instead of using pour?
In French, pendant is used to express the duration of an action that has a clear beginning and end in the past. English speakers often want to use pour for 'for', but in French, pour with time usually indicates a scheduled duration for a future event (like 'I am leaving for a month'). Since this action is already completed, pendant is the correct choice.
Why use the passé composé (J'ai arrosé) rather than the imperfect tense if the action lasted a whole month?
Even though the watering happened over a long period, it has a specified, completed duration (pendant un mois). The passé composé is used for past events with a clear start and end. If you used the imperfect tense (j'arrosais), it would sound like an open-ended habit, meaning 'I used to water their garden'.
Why is it leur potager and not leurs if 'their' implies multiple owners?
What is the difference between un potager and un jardin?
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