Ils ne partent jamais sans leur parapluie, même quand la météo est géniale.

to be

Breakdown of Ils ne partent jamais sans leur parapluie, même quand la météo est géniale.

• ils: they
• quand: when
• partir: to leave
• leur: their
• le parapluie: the umbrella
• ne ... jamais: never
• génial: awesome
• sans: without
• même: even
• la météo: the weather

Questions & Answers about Ils ne partent jamais sans leur parapluie, même quand la météo est géniale.

Why is it partent and not part or partir?

In French, the verb partir must be conjugated to match the subject. Since the subject here is ils (third person plural), we use the present tense form partent. If it were il (he) or elle (she), we would say il part or elle part; for je (I), it would be je pars, and so on.

Why do we have ne ... jamais together?

In French, ne ... jamais is a standard way to express never. You place ne before the conjugated verb and jamais after the verb. For example, ils ne partent jamais means they never leave.

Why is it leur parapluie and not leurs parapluies?

French uses leur in the singular to indicate that each person has one of something. Leur parapluie here suggests that each member of the group has his or her own single umbrella. If you wanted to emphasize multiple umbrellas per person, or that there are multiple umbrellas in total, you could use leurs parapluies.

Why do we say même quand?

Même quand translates to even when in English. It emphasizes that the action (never leaving without an umbrella) happens in every circumstance, even when the weather is nice.

What does la météo est géniale imply in French?

La météo refers to the weather and is a feminine noun in French. Géniale is the feminine form of the adjective génial (meaning amazing or great) and agrees with the feminine noun météo. This implies that the weather is really nice or wonderful, yet they still don’t leave without their umbrella.