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Breakdown of Il faut se dépêcher ce matin, car nous ne voulons pas être en retard.
être
to be
ne ... pas
not
nous
we
vouloir
to want
le matin
the morning
ce
this
falloir
to be necessary
se
oneself
dépêcher
to hurry
car
because
en retard
late
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“How does grammatical gender work in French?”
Every French noun is either masculine or feminine, and this affects the articles and adjectives used with it. "Le" is used with masculine nouns and "la" with feminine ones. Adjectives also change form to match — for example, "petit" (masc.) becomes "petite" (fem.).
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Questions & Answers about Il faut se dépêcher ce matin, car nous ne voulons pas être en retard.
Why do we use Il faut se dépêcher instead of Nous devons nous dépêcher?
Using Il faut is a more impersonal construction meaning It is necessary or One must. It's common in French to express a general necessity or obligation in an impersonal way. Nous devons nous dépêcher is also correct, but it puts more emphasis on us specifically having to hurry, rather than stating a general need.
Why is se dépêcher a reflexive verb?
In French, se dépêcher is inherently reflexive, which means it literally translates to to hurry oneself. Many French verbs that describe actions one does to or for oneself use se as a reflexive pronoun. In this case, the reflexive pronoun se must accompany dépêcher for it to mean to hurry.
Why do we use car instead of parce que?
Both car and parce que mean because, but car is often found in more formal written contexts or explanatory statements. Parce que is more common in everyday speech and is often used to directly state a cause. Here, using car is simply a stylistic choice and does not significantly change the meaning.
What does être en retard literally mean, and why not use something like être tard?
Être en retard literally translates to to be in delay, which is the set French expression for to be late. Saying être tard does not convey the idea of being late for something; tard on its own is typically used as an adverb meaning late (for example, Il est tard means It is late in the day). Therefore, être en retard is the correct way to say to be late.