Les enfants grandissent vite, et ils croient souvent qu’ils peuvent tout faire.

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Breakdown of Les enfants grandissent vite, et ils croient souvent qu’ils peuvent tout faire.

• ils: they
• souvent: often
• faire: to do
• l'enfant: the child
• grandir: to grow
• vite: quickly
• croire: to believe
• qu’ils: that they
• pouvoir: to be able
• tout: everything

Questions & Answers about Les enfants grandissent vite, et ils croient souvent qu’ils peuvent tout faire.

Why do we say grandissent instead of grandir in this sentence?

Because grandissent is the third-person plural form of the verb grandir (to grow). In French, verbs must agree in number (singular/plural) and person. Since the subject is Les enfants (the children), we need the 3rd-person plural conjugation: ils/elles grandissent.

What does vite mean here, and can it be replaced with rapidement?

Vite means quickly or fast, and it functions as an adverb describing how the children grow. You could replace vite with rapidement (rapidly), which has a similar meaning, though vite is often considered more colloquial and is very commonly used in everyday speech.

Why is there an et in the middle of the sentence?

The coordinating conjunction et (and) joins two related ideas: 1) children grow quickly, and 2) they often believe they can do anything. It’s simply linking two statements in one sentence.

What is the role of souvent?

Souvent means often. It modifies the verb croient (believe) to indicate the frequency with which children believe they can do anything.

Why is there qu’ils instead of que ils?

When the word que is immediately followed by a vowel sound (like ils starts with a vowel sound), French grammar requires an elision, which means dropping the e and adding an apostrophe. So, que ils becomes qu’ils to maintain a smoother flow when speaking.

Does ils peuvent tout faire mean they can do everything?

Yes, ils peuvent tout faire literally translates to they can do everything. In context, it suggests that children often feel they are capable of anything, emphasizing their sense of limitless possibility.