Learn French: Nous y allons souvent pour pêcher.

Nous y allons souvent pour pêcher.

We often go there to fish.

Breakdown of Nous y allons souvent pour pêcher.

nous

we / us (object pronoun)

Questions & Answers about Nous y allons souvent pour pêcher.

Why does y come before allons?

The pronoun y (meaning "there") must go immediately before the conjugated verb it belongs to. While English says "We go there," French structure requires you to place the pronoun before the verb: Nous y allons.

Why is the adverb souvent placed after the verb instead of before it?

In French, adverbs of frequency like souvent (often) typically follow the conjugated verb. Unlike in English where we say "We often go," French requires you to place the adverb after the verb: Nous y allons souvent.

Why do we need pour before pêcher? Doesn't the infinitive already mean "to fish"?

While pêcher alone translates to "to fish," using pour followed by an infinitive expresses purpose or intent. Whenever you can replace "to" with "in order to" in English (like "We often go there in order to fish"), you must use pour before the infinitive in French.

Should I pronounce the s at the end of allons to make a liaison with souvent?

No, you do not make a liaison here. The s at the end of allons remains silent. In spoken French, you generally do not link a conjugated plural verb ending in "s" to an adverb like souvent.