Ils vivent en France pendant les vacances.

They live in France during the holidays.

Breakdown of Ils vivent en France pendant les vacances.

• en: in
• ils: they
• pendant: during
• France: France
• vivre: to live

Questions & Answers about Ils vivent en France pendant les vacances.

Why does the sentence use vivent instead of something like habitent?

Vivre usually emphasizes the act of living in a place and all that it entails: experiencing daily life, staying there for an extended period, etc. Habiter focuses more on residing somewhere, often referring to a permanent home address. In this sentence, Ils vivent en France suggests they are spending (and experiencing) their holidays in France, not necessarily that their official residence is there.

Why is en France used instead of à France or dans la France?

French uses en before the name of most feminine countries (like France) to indicate being inside or going to that country. À is generally used before cities (e.g., à Paris), and dans la France would sound odd because it implies “inside the region” in a more literal sense. So, en France is the correct preposition for “in France.”

Can ils be used for a mixed group of people, or does it only refer to males?

In French, ils is the default plural subject pronoun for a group of males or a mixed group of males and females. Elles is used only for a group of females. So if there’s at least one male in the group, ils is correct.

What is the role of pendant in pendant les vacances?

Pendant typically means “during” a certain period of time. Pendant les vacances tells us that the action (living in France) happens over the duration of the vacation period. It implies the entire or a significant portion of the vacation time is spent in France.

Could you say pour les vacances instead of pendant les vacances?

You could say pour les vacances, but it subtly changes the emphasis. Pour les vacances can sound more like an intention or plan (“for the vacation”), while pendant les vacances specifically regards the duration (“during the vacation”). In everyday speech, both expressions can be heard, but pendant is more precise about the time span.