Breakdown of Nous réparons le toit avant l’hiver pour éviter les fuites.
nous
we
avant
before
pour
in order to
éviter
to avoid
réparer
to repair
le toit
the roof
l’hiver
the winter
la fuite
the leak
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Questions & Answers about Nous réparons le toit avant l’hiver pour éviter les fuites.
Why is the verb réparons in the present tense even though the action happens in the future?
In French, the present tense is often used to talk about near-future events when a clear time frame is mentioned. In this sentence, avant l’hiver establishes the future context, so using réparons is perfectly acceptable to indicate that the roof will be repaired before winter.
What does the phrase avant l’hiver mean, and why is it structured that way?
Avant l’hiver literally means “before winter.” The preposition avant (before) is followed by the definite article l’ plus hiver because French typically uses the definite article when referring to seasons or well-known periods.
What is the function of the phrase pour éviter les fuites in the sentence?
The phrase pour éviter les fuites explains the purpose of the action—it tells us why the roof is being repaired. The word pour introduces a purpose clause (meaning “in order to”), and éviter les fuites means “to avoid leaks.”
Why are definite articles used in le toit and les fuites?
In French, definite articles like le and les are used when referring to specific objects or well-defined concepts. Here, le toit (the roof) points to a specific roof known in context, and les fuites (the leaks) indicates that the speaker is referring to particular leaks, or leaks in general in this familiar scenario.
How does the structure of this sentence help convey its meaning clearly?
The sentence follows a typical French word order: subject (Nous), verb (réparons), and object (le toit), followed by two adverbial phrases. Avant l’hiver provides a time frame, and pour éviter les fuites explains the purpose. This clear structure helps readers easily understand both when the action will occur and why it is being done.
How does using the present tense for a future action in French differ from English usage?
In English, we usually mark future actions with auxiliary constructions like “will” or “going to.” In French, however, the present tense is commonly used for scheduled or imminent actions, especially when the timing (in this case, avant l’hiver) is made explicit. This subtle difference is one of the common features learners notice when comparing the two languages.