Breakdown of Apprends à bloquer ce coup !
ce
this (before a noun)
à
at / to / in (general locations) / about (what one thinks about / reacts to)
apprendre
to learn
le coup
the blow
bloquer
to block
Questions & Answers about Apprends à bloquer ce coup !
Why do we need à before bloquer?
The verb apprendre requires the preposition à when it is followed by an infinitive verb like bloquer. In French, many verbs need a specific preposition (à or de) before a following action, and apprendre à is a common pattern you simply have to memorize.
Why does Apprends end in an s here? I thought we drop the s in tu commands!
You are thinking of -er verbs! Regular verbs ending in -er drop the s in the tu form of the imperative. However, apprendre is an -re verb, so it keeps its normal present-tense spelling for the tu command: Apprends !
How would I change this sentence to tell someone to learn to block it?
You would use the direct object pronoun le to replace ce coup. When you have a main verb followed by an infinitive, the object pronoun goes directly in front of the infinitive it belongs to. The sentence would become: Apprends à le bloquer !
Does the word coup always mean a physical hit or blow?
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