Learn French: Je mets le transat dans le jardin histoire de lézarder. - I am putting the deckchair in the garden just to laze about.

Je mets le transat dans le jardin histoire de lézarder.

I am putting the deckchair in the garden just to laze about.

Breakdown of Je mets le transat dans le jardin histoire de lézarder.

dans

in, inside

le jardin

the garden (also in "to do the gardening")

mettre

to put / to put on

Questions & Answers about Je mets le transat dans le jardin histoire de lézarder.

Why use histoire de here instead of just pour?

While pour lézarder is grammatically correct, histoire de adds a casual, laid-back nuance. It translates better to 'just to' or 'simply to', implying that the action is not a strict, serious goal, but just a relaxed idea.

Is histoire de always followed by an infinitive verb like lézarder?

Yes! When used to express purpose, histoire de must be followed by an infinitive. It functions as a fixed prepositional phrase. You cannot follow it with a conjugated verb or a clause with que.

The verb lézarder looks a lot like the word for a lizard. Is that a coincidence?

Not at all! Lézarder literally comes from lézard (lizard). It paints a vivid picture of an animal basking motionless on a warm rock. In everyday French, it is the perfect verb for lazing about in the sun.

What exactly is a transat? Is it just a general word for a garden chair?

A transat is specifically a deckchair or sun lounger. It is actually an abbreviation of the word transatlantique, because these folding chairs were famously used on the decks of old transatlantic cruise ships!