Le week-end, nous allons nous promener au parc avec nos amis.

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Breakdown of Le week-end, nous allons nous promener au parc avec nos amis.

• avec: with
• nous: we
• aller: to go
• le week-end: the weekend
• le parc: the park
• nos: our
• nous: ourselves

Questions & Answers about Le week-end, nous allons nous promener au parc avec nos amis.

Why do we say Le week-end instead of Pendant le week-end to mean "on weekends"?

In French, Le week-end at the beginning of a sentence often carries the meaning "on weekends" in a general sense. While you can say Pendant le week-end or Pendant les week-ends to emphasize "during the weekend(s)," the shorter Le week-end is a natural, idiomatic way to say "on weekends," much like using Le lundi ("on Mondays").

Why is nous repeated in nous allons nous promener?

The first nous is the subject pronoun meaning "we." The second nous is a reflexive pronoun that goes with the verb se promener, meaning "to take a walk (oneself)." In French, reflexive verbs require matching reflexive pronouns, so the structure is subject pronoun + aller + reflexive pronoun + infinitive (nous allons nous promener).

Could we just say nous allons promener instead of nous allons nous promener?

Not if you want to keep the same meaning. Promener can mean "to walk (something)" (for example, "walk the dog"), while se promener is "to take a walk" (ourselves). Including the reflexive pronoun nous indicates that you yourselves are doing the strolling, rather than walking someone or something else.

Why do we say au parc instead of à le parc?

The words à (to) and le (the) contract in French to become au. So à le parc is never used in modern French; it’s always au parc. This type of contraction also applies to à + les, which becomes aux.