Breakdown of On servait la bouillie froide dans le réfectoire.
on
one / we (informal)
froid
cold
dans
in, inside
servir
to serve
le réfectoire
the dining hall
la bouillie
the gruel
Questions & Answers about On servait la bouillie froide dans le réfectoire.
Why is servait in the imperfect tense rather than the passé composé?
The imperfect tense here describes a background setting, an ongoing state, or a habit in the past. It implies "They used to serve" or "They were serving." If it were a single, isolated event (e.g., "They served it once at 8 PM"), you would use the passé composé: On a servi.
The translation says "They", so why does the French use On instead of Ils?
On is heavily used in French as an indefinite pronoun for "someone" or "people in general." When English uses a generic "they" (as in "they serve good food here"), French prefers on. If you used ils servaient, it would refer to a specific, previously mentioned group of people, like the cooks.
If I made this negative to say "They served neither the cold gruel nor the soup," would I drop the article la before bouillie?
No, you would keep it: On ne servait ni la bouillie froide ni la soupe. The current lesson's rule about omitting articles after ni... ni... only applies to partitive (du, de la, des) and indefinite (un, une) articles. Because this sentence specifically uses the definite article la, it remains in the negative.
Is a réfectoire just a normal restaurant or dining room?
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