Je vois quelqu’un dans le jardin.

I see someone in the garden.

Breakdown of Je vois quelqu’un dans le jardin.

• je: I
• dans: in
• le jardin: the garden
• voir: to see
• quelqu’un: someone

Questions & Answers about Je vois quelqu’un dans le jardin.

What is the role of “vois” in this sentence?

“Vois” is the first person singular present tense form of the verb voir (“to see”). In this sentence, it means "I see", matching the subject Je.

How is the word “quelqu’un” formed and what does it mean?

“Quelqu’un” is a contraction of quelque and un, used as an indefinite pronoun meaning "someone" or "somebody". Although it takes the masculine form, it can refer to a person of any gender when the identity is unspecified.

Why is the definite article “le” used before “jardin” instead of an indefinite article?

In French, when referring to a specific or familiar location, the definite article is used. Here, le jardin translates literally as "the garden"—implying a particular garden known or assumed in context.

What is the grammatical structure of “Je vois quelqu’un dans le jardin”?

The sentence follows a straightforward structure: Subject (Je) + Verb (vois) + Direct Object (quelqu’un) + Prepositional Phrase (dans le jardin). The prepositional phrase specifies where the action takes place.

Why is there an apostrophe in “quelqu’un”?

The apostrophe indicates the elision of the vowel in quelque before the word un to facilitate smoother pronunciation. This type of contraction is common in French when a word ending in a vowel is followed by another word beginning with a vowel sound.