Tu dois te dépêcher pour attraper le bus, sinon tu vas tarder au bureau.

You must hurry to catch the bus, otherwise you will be late to the office.

Breakdown of Tu dois te dépêcher pour attraper le bus, sinon tu vas tarder au bureau.

• tu: you
• le bus: the bus
• aller: to go
• le bureau: the office
• dépêcher: to hurry
• devoir: must
• attraper: to catch
• sinon: otherwise

Questions & Answers about Tu dois te dépêcher pour attraper le bus, sinon tu vas tarder au bureau.

Why do we say te dépêcher instead of just dépêcher?

In French, se dépêcher is a pronominal (reflexive) verb, meaning to hurry oneself. You need to include te (the reflexive pronoun) to indicate that you are hurrying yourself. Without the reflexive pronoun, the verb dépêcher would refer to sending someone or something else quickly (as in dépêcher un message).

Why do we use Tu dois instead of Tu as besoin de or Tu devrais?

Tu dois conveys a strong necessity or obligation (like You must or You have to). Tu as besoin de (You need to) is also possible, but it focuses more on having a need, rather than the sense of an immediate requirement. Tu devrais (You should) is weaker and suggests advice rather than a requirement. Here, Tu dois emphasizes that you really must hurry to catch the bus.

Is it always pour + infinitive to express in order to?

Yes, in French, to express the purpose or goal of an action, you commonly use pour + infinitive, as in pour attraper le bus (in order to catch the bus). It indicates the why or for what purpose of the action.

What does sinon mean in this context?

Sinon translates to otherwise or if not in English. It introduces the consequence of not following the previous advice. So in this sentence, if you don’t hurry to catch the bus, the result is that you will be late for work.

How is tu vas tarder different from tu vas être en retard?

Both can mean that you’ll be late. However, tu vas tarder can imply you’re going to take too long to arrive, focusing on the delay. Tu vas être en retard more directly means you are going to be late (arriving after the expected time). In many contexts, they’re interchangeable, but tarder emphasizes the idea of being slow to get going or to get there.

Why do we say au bureau and not à le bureau in French?

À le bureau contracts into au bureau. Whenever you have à + le, it becomes au in French. So, to the office is au bureau. You’ll see the same pattern with other masculine nouns, like à le cinéma -> au cinéma.