Questions & Answers about Les gamins sont rentrés de l'école.
Why does this sentence use sont instead of ont for the past tense?
The verb rentrer (to return or come home) is a movement verb that uses être as its helping verb in the past tense, rather than avoir. Because it uses être, the past participle rentrés must also match the plural subject (Les gamins), which is why it has an s at the end. What is the difference between les gamins and les enfants?
Les gamins is a familiar, everyday word meaning kids or youngsters. It is more informal than les enfants, which is the standard French word for children. Why use rentrés here instead of other words for return, like retournés or revenus?
The verb rentrer specifically implies returning to your home or base. Since the kids are coming back from school to their house, rentrer is the most natural fit. You use retourner to mean going back to a place you aren't currently at, and revenir simply means coming back toward the speaker. Why is it de l'école and not just d'école?
French almost always requires an article before a noun. While in English we can just say from school, French requires from the school. Because école starts with a vowel, the article la becomes l', making it de l'école. Learn Les gamins sont rentrés de l'école and more in French
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