ELONIO
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Il reste une minute.

Il reste une minute.
There is one minute left.
FromLesson 12inHardcore French

Breakdown of Il reste une minute.

il
he
rester
to remain
la minute
the minute

Questions & Answers about Il reste une minute.

What does Il reste une minute literally translate to in English?
It translates to "There is one minute left" or "One minute remains." The sentence indicates that only one minute is remaining in a given context.
Why is the word Il used as the subject in this sentence?
In this sentence, Il serves as a dummy or impersonal subject, similar to "it" in English phrases like "it is raining." It doesn’t refer to a specific person or object but is used to express the state of time remaining.
How is the verb rester conjugated in the sentence, and why is it used in that form?
The verb rester is conjugated in the third person singular as reste to agree with the dummy subject Il. This form is used in impersonal constructions to indicate what remains, making it appropriate for stating the amount of time left.
Why is the feminine article une used before minute instead of the numeral 1 or the masculine form?
In French, numbers up to ten are typically written as words. Since minute is a feminine noun, the feminine form une is used instead of un. This is why the sentence correctly says "une minute" rather than using a numeral or a mismatched article.
Is it possible to rephrase the sentence to emphasize the limited time even more?
Yes, you could say "Il ne reste qu'une minute." The addition of "ne ... que" emphasizes that only one minute remains, stressing the limited time available.
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“How does grammatical gender work in French?”
Every French noun is either masculine or feminine, and this affects the articles and adjectives used with it. "Le" is used with masculine nouns and "la" with feminine ones. Adjectives also change form to match — for example, "petit" (masc.) becomes "petite" (fem.).

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