Breakdown of Elle allait appeler le vétérinaire, mais sa batterie était vide.
être
to be
elle
she
mais
but
son
his/her/its (son, sa, ses)
aller
to go
le
him, it (masculine direct object pronoun)
appeler
to call (general)
vide
empty
la batterie
the battery
le vétérinaire
the vet
Questions & Answers about Elle allait appeler le vétérinaire, mais sa batterie était vide.
Why do we use the Imparfait allait instead of the Passé Composé here?
To express an intention you had in the past, or what you were going to do, you use aller in the Imparfait followed by an infinitive like appeler. If you used the Passé Composé here, like elle est allée appeler, it would mean she physically went somewhere and actually made the call.
Why is it sa batterie? Does sa match with the word Elle?
No, in French, possessive adjectives agree with the noun that is owned, not the owner. Batterie is a feminine noun, so it requires the feminine possessive sa. Even if a man owned the phone, it would still be sa batterie.
Why is était in the Imparfait rather than the Passé Composé?
The Imparfait is used to describe ongoing states, conditions, or background situations in the past. The battery being empty is a description of how things were at that moment, not a sudden, completed action.
Do you ever need a preposition like à after appeler?
No, appeler takes a direct object, so it connects directly to le vétérinaire just like in English. However, if you chose to use the verb téléphoner, you would need the preposition à, which would combine with le to make au vétérinaire.
Learn Elle allait appeler le vétérinaire, mais sa batterie était vide 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