Breakdown of Nous sommes remontés au dernier étage.
nous
we / us (object pronoun)
dernier
last
l'étage
the floor, a story (m)
remonter
to go back up; to date back
Questions & Answers about Nous sommes remontés au dernier étage.
Why does remonter use être here instead of avoir?
Because it is being used intransitively (without a direct object). When verbs of motion like monter and its derivatives like remonter describe movement to a place, they use être. If you were bringing a direct object back up, like 'we brought the bags back up' (Nous avons remonté les sacs), you would use avoir.
Why is there an 's' on the end of remontés?
Why does dernier come before étage instead of after?
The meaning of dernier changes depending on its position. When placed before the noun, it means 'last in a physical series' or 'final' (like the highest floor of a building). When placed after a noun, it means the 'previous' or 'just passed' one, which is mostly used for time (like la semaine dernière for 'last week').
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