Log inSign up

J'avais élargi ce pantalon parce qu'il était trop petit.

J'avais élargi ce pantalon parce qu'il était trop petit.
I had widened these pants because they were too small.
From Lesson 307:Past participle agreement with causative faire (fait)·French

Questions & Answers about J'avais élargi ce pantalon parce qu'il était trop petit.

The lesson is about causative faire (having something done). Why don't we use fait élargir in this sentence?
In English, the word "had" can be a helper verb for the past perfect ("I had widened it myself") or a causative verb ("I had it widened by a tailor"). Here, it's the past perfect: the speaker did the widening themselves, so we just use the plus-que-parfait tense (j'avais élargi). If someone else had done it for them, you would use the causative structure: J'avais fait élargir ce pantalon.
Why is the singular ce pantalon translated as the plural "these pants"?
In French, a pair of pants is treated as a single item (un pantalon). While English treats words like "pants", "trousers", or "shorts" as inherently plural, French treats them as singular. Therefore, it takes the singular demonstrative adjective ce (this/that).
Since "pants" is plural in English, why does the second half of the sentence use il était?
Pronouns must agree with the grammatical gender and number of the French noun they replace, not the English translation. Since pantalon is masculine singular, it is replaced by il (it), and the verb must be conjugated in the singular (était).
How is the verb élargir formed?
It is built from the adjective large, which means "wide" in French (not "large"). By adding the prefix é- and the standard -ir verb ending, it becomes élargir (to widen or to stretch). It conjugates as a regular -ir verb.
Could I use the passé composé (J'ai élargi) instead of the plus-que-parfait (J'avais élargi) here?
You could, but it changes the timeline. J'ai élargi simply means "I widened" (a completed past event). The plus-que-parfait (j'avais élargi) means "I had widened"—it places the action further back in the past, emphasizing that the widening was already finished before another past event in the story you are telling.

Learn J'avais élargi ce pantalon parce qu'il était trop petit 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
Start learning French →