Je peux accéder à mon bureau.

I

Breakdown of Je peux accéder à mon bureau.

• mon: my
• à: to
• le bureau: the office

Questions & Answers about Je peux accéder à mon bureau.

What is the grammatical structure of Je peux accéder à mon bureau?

This sentence uses a modal construction. It begins with Je (the subject) followed by peux, which is the present-tense form of the modal verb pouvoir meaning “can.” The modal verb is then followed by the infinitive accéder (“to access”), and finally the object mon bureau is introduced by the preposition à. This structure—modal verb + infinitive—is very common in French.

Why is the infinitive accéder used after peux?

In French, modal verbs like pouvoir must be followed by an infinitive to indicate the action that is possible. This is similar to English, where we say “I can access…” The infinitive form remains unchanged regardless of the subject.

Why is the preposition à necessary after accéder?

The verb accéder requires the preposition à to introduce the noun that is being accessed. Just as in English we say “access to something,” the à cannot be omitted in French; it’s an integral part of the expression.

Why is the possessive adjective mon used with bureau?

The noun bureau is masculine in French. Therefore, the appropriate possessive adjective is mon (meaning “my”). If the noun were feminine, you would use ma instead.