Breakdown of Le voyant est rouge et la barre ne tombe pas.
être
to be
et
and
ne
not (used before the verb)
pas
not (used after the verb)
Questions & Answers about Le voyant est rouge et la barre ne tombe pas.
Does the word voyant (indicator light) have a connection to the verb voir (to see)?
In what real-life situation would you talk about a voyant and a barre?
In this context, la barre refers to a boom barrier, like those at a toll booth, railway crossing, or parking garage. When the warning light is red, the barrier is supposed to lower, so this sentence describes a mechanical failure.
This lesson is about using ne faire que (to only do / to do nothing but). How would we change the second half of this sentence to say 'the bar does nothing but fall'?
You would say la barre ne fait que tomber. To use this structure, you conjugate the verb faire, wrap it in the restrictive ne... que, and follow it with the infinitive of the main action verb (tomber).
Instead of saying the bar does not fall (ne tombe pas), how could we use a B2-level structure to say 'the bar is not being lowered'?
You could use a reflexive verb to express a passive idea: la barre ne se baisse pas. French frequently uses this pronominal passive structure for inanimate objects where English might use a passive voice like 'is not being lowered'.