Breakdown of Ces objets en bois se conservent au musée.
ce
this (before a noun)
à
at / to / in (general locations) / about (what one thinks about / reacts to)
le musée
the museum
se
himself, herself, themselves (reflexive)
le bois
the wood
l'objet
the object, item (m)
en
made of (material)
conserver
to preserve
Questions & Answers about Ces objets en bois se conservent au musée.
Why does the sentence use se conservent instead of sont conservés?
This is the pronominal passive. In French, when an inanimate thing (like ces objets) receives an action, it is very common to use a reflexive verb (se + verb) rather than the standard passive voice (sont conservés). It translates to English as the passive phrase "are kept."
Could I say On conserve ces objets au musée instead?
Why is it en bois and not an adjective like in English?
French rarely uses adjectives for materials. Instead, you use the preposition en followed by the noun for the material. So "wooden objects" literally translates to "objects in wood" (objets en bois).
Why does the sentence use au musée instead of dans le musée?
Learn Ces objets en bois se conservent au musée and more in French
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free