Breakdown of La boîte est là et le chat dort dessus.
Questions & Answers about La boîte est là et le chat dort dessus.
Why do we use dessus instead of sur for 'on it'?
Sur is a preposition that must be followed by a noun, like sur la boîte (on the box). Because we already mentioned the box and do not want to repeat the word, we use the adverb dessus, which means 'on it' or 'on top of it' all by itself. Could I say sur elle instead of dessus since boîte is feminine?
That is a very common trap! In French, you usually do not use pronouns like elle or lui after location words when talking about inanimate things. Instead of saying sur elle (on it), you must use the special location word dessus. Is dort a regular -ir verb?
No, dormir (to sleep) is irregular. Regular -ir verbs keep their full root, but for dormir, the root changes. We drop the m for the singular forms, giving us je dors, tu dors, and il/elle/on dort. Does là strictly mean 'there' in this sentence?
While là translates directly to 'there' (and ici means 'here'), spoken French often uses là loosely to mean 'here' as well. In this sentence, it simply points out the physical location of the box, meaning 'right there' or 'around here'. Learn La boîte est là et le chat dort dessus and more in French
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