Breakdown of Nous sommes en train de nettoyer les briques.
nous
we / us (object pronoun)
nettoyer
to clean
être en train de
to be in the middle of (doing)
la brique
the brick
Questions & Answers about Nous sommes en train de nettoyer les briques.
Does Nous sommes en train de nettoyer mean exactly the same thing as Nous nettoyons?
Nous nettoyons usually translates to both "we clean" and "we are cleaning." However, using the structure être en train de specifically emphasizes that you are actively in the middle of doing it right now. It is the best way to express the English progressive aspect ("we are in the middle of cleaning").
Why is nettoyer in the infinitive instead of conjugated to match nous?
In French, whenever a verb directly follows a preposition like de, it must be in the infinitive (the unconjugated dictionary form). Because the fixed expression ends in de, the action that follows will always be an infinitive, like nettoyer.
Does the word train in this sentence have anything to do with a train you ride?
Historically, yes! Both come from an old French verb meaning "to pull" or "to drag." While a physical train is a series of pulled cars, en train de originally referred to being "in the movement of" an action. Today, it is just a fixed idiom for "in the process of" and has lost its literal connection to trains.
Do I need to pronounce a "z" sound between sommes and en?
You can, but you do not have to. Connecting the normally silent "s" in sommes to the vowel in en creates a "z" sound. This is called an optional liaison. Making this connection sounds a bit more formal, while dropping it is perfectly normal in everyday speech.
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