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Le présentateur réussit à expliquer la politique en direct.

Le présentateur réussit à expliquer la politique en direct.
The presenter succeeds in explaining politics live.
From Lesson 285:The impersonal expression (il s'agit de)·French

Questions & Answers about Le présentateur réussit à expliquer la politique en direct.

Why is it réussit à expliquer instead of réussit en expliquant to match "succeeds in explaining"?
In French, the verb réussir (to succeed) requires the preposition à followed by an infinitive verb to mean "to succeed in doing something". While English uses "in" plus an "-ing" word, French uses à plus the infinitive expliquer.
Why does "politics" translate to the singular la politique?
Although "politics" ends in an "s" in English, it is a singular concept. French reflects this with the singular feminine noun la politique. If you used the plural les politiques, it would mean "policies" or "politicians".
What exactly does en direct mean in this context?
En direct is a very common broadcasting term that means "live" or "on air". It tells us the presenter is explaining things as they happen, rather than on a pre-recorded broadcast.
Is réussit present or past tense here?
It is the present tense ("succeeds"). Réussir is a regular -ir verb, so the present tense for il/elle ends in -it. The past tense (passé composé) would be a réussi ("has succeeded" or "succeeded").

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