L’arrosage empêche la plante de dépérir.

L’arrosage means watering or the watering.

It is a noun made from the verb arroser (to water). In French, verbs can often become nouns ending in -age, especially for an action or process:

• arroser = to water
• arrosage = watering

So L’arrosage empêche... literally starts as Watering prevents...

Because arrosage begins with a vowel sound, le contracts to l’ in front of it.

So:

• le arrosage ❌
• l’arrosage ✅

This is very common in French:

• le arbre → l’arbre
• la eau → l’eau

Because the subject is l’arrosage, which is singular.

French verbs must agree with their subject:

• L’arrosage empêche... = Watering prevents...
• If the subject were plural, the verb would also be plural:
  • Les arrosages empêchent...

Even though watering may feel like a general activity in English, in French l’arrosage is grammatically singular here.

Empêcher means to prevent or to stop.

A very common pattern is:

empêcher + noun + de + infinitive

So here:

• empêche = prevents
• la plante = the plant
• de dépérir = from withering / from wasting away

So the structure is:

L’arrosage empêche la plante de dépérir.
= Watering prevents the plant from withering.

Because empêcher normally takes de before the infinitive.

Pattern:

• empêcher quelqu’un de faire quelque chose
  = to prevent someone from doing something

Examples:

• Il empêche son fils de sortir.
  = He prevents his son from going out.
• Cela m’empêche de dormir.
  = That prevents me from sleeping.

So in your sentence:

• empêche la plante de dépérir
  = prevents the plant from withering

Because the verb empêcher specifically uses de, not à, before an infinitive.

French verbs often require a particular preposition, and this just has to be learned as part of the verb pattern.

For example:

• commencer à faire = to begin doing
• essayer de faire = to try to do
• empêcher de faire = to prevent from doing

So de dépérir is the correct construction after empêcher.

Dépérir means to waste away, to wither, to decline, or to languish, depending on context.

For a plant, it suggests that it is gradually losing health and vitality, not just suddenly dying. So it is stronger and more specific than just to be unhealthy.

With plants, a natural English translation is often:

• to wither
• to waste away

Using la plante refers to the plant, a specific plant, or a plant being spoken about in a general illustrative way.

French often uses the definite article where English might also use the in an example sentence. If you said une plante, the meaning would shift slightly toward a plant:

• L’arrosage empêche la plante de dépérir.
  = Watering prevents the plant from withering.
• L’arrosage empêche une plante de dépérir.
  = Watering prevents a plant from withering.

Both are grammatically possible, but la plante sounds more like a standard general statement about a plant under discussion.

No. Another very common way would be to use the infinitive as the subject:

• Arroser la plante l’empêche de dépérir.

That means something like:

• Watering the plant prevents it from withering.

But l’arrosage is perfectly natural and slightly more noun-like or abstract: it refers to the act/process of watering.

Yes, but it would not mean exactly the same thing.

• mourir = to die
• dépérir = to wither / waste away / decline gradually

So:

• empêche la plante de mourir = prevents the plant from dying
• empêche la plante de dépérir = prevents the plant from withering / wasting away

The original sentence suggests a gradual decline in health, which fits plants very well.

empêche is pronounced roughly like ahm-PESH.

The ê is an accented e. In modern French, the accent often helps indicate spelling and sometimes pronunciation history, but for a learner the most important thing is to recognize and reproduce the word correctly.

Also note:

• empêche = he/she/it prevents or prevents with a singular subject
• infinitive: empêcher = to prevent

So the sentence uses the conjugated form empêche, not the infinitive empêcher.

Yes. French often uses the definite article plus a singular noun to express a general truth or general idea.

So L’arrosage empêche la plante de dépérir can be understood as a general statement like:

• Watering keeps a plant from withering
• Watering prevents a plant from wasting away

Even though the nouns are singular, the sentence can still express a broad, general idea.