Breakdown of J'allais retirer de l'argent, mais le distributeur est en panne.
je
I
être
to be
mais
but
de
of / from / any (in negative sentences) / about (concerning)
aller
to go
en
in, to
l'argent
the money (m)
le
him, it (masculine direct object pronoun)
la panne
the breakdown / the failure
retirer
to withdraw / to remove, to take out
le distributeur
the ATM
Questions & Answers about J'allais retirer de l'argent, mais le distributeur est en panne.
Why do we use the imparfait form allais here instead of the passé composé?
Using the imparfait of aller (j'allais) followed by an infinitive (retirer) is how you express an unfulfilled past intention. It means you were going to do something, but as the rest of the sentence shows, you did not end up doing it. If you used the passé composé (je suis allé retirer), it would mean you actually went and completed the withdrawal.
Why is it de l'argent and not just l'argent?
Here we need a partitive article because you are withdrawing an unspecified amount of money (some money). Since argent is masculine and starts with a vowel, the partitive article is de l'. If you were talking about money in a general sense, like saying you love money, you would just use the definite article l'argent.
Is distributeur the standard word for an ATM in French?
Can I use en panne for anything that is broken?
En panne is specifically used for machines, vehicles, systems, or electronic devices that have stopped working or broken down. You would not use it for a physical object that shattered or snapped, like a glass or a pencil, which would instead be cassé.
Learn J'allais retirer de l'argent, mais le distributeur est en panne 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