Pendant nos vacances, nous aimons visiter la France.

to like

Breakdown of Pendant nos vacances, nous aimons visiter la France.

• nous: we
• à: to
• pendant: during
• nos: our
• visiter: to visit

Questions & Answers about Pendant nos vacances, nous aimons visiter la France.

Why is vacances plural in French, while in English we usually say vacation (singular)?

In French, vacances is almost always used in the plural form to refer to a break or holiday period, even when it corresponds to the singular word vacation in English. It’s simply a matter of usage and convention in the French language. You’ll rarely see vacance in the singular, except in very rare or old-fashioned expressions.

What does pendant mean, and can I use another word instead?

Pendant means during in English, so it’s used to indicate the time span over which something happens. For example, pendant nos vacances = during our vacation(s). You can also use durant (it’s a bit more formal or literary), but pendant is more common in everyday speech.

Why do we say la France and not just France in this sentence?

French typically uses the definite article (le, la, les) before country names. So, for France, you say la France to mean France in a general sense. It’s similar to saying the United States in English, even though we skip the article for many other country names in English.

How do I know when to use nous aimons instead of something like on aime?

Nous aimons is the formal way to say we like or we love. It’s the first-person plural of aimer. In everyday spoken French, people often use on aime (using on as an informal we). Grammatically, nous aimons is perfectly correct and clear, but in casual speech you might hear on aime more often.

Is it correct to use visiter with a country?

Yes, visiter is appropriate when you talk about going to a place (city, country, museum, etc.) to see and explore it. In French, saying visiter la France is perfectly natural and means you’re traveling there to discover or tour the country. For more abstract ideas, you might choose other verbs, but for places, visiter is correct.