Nous réparons le toit avant l’hiver pour éviter les fuites.

We repair the roof before winter to avoid leaks.

Breakdown of Nous réparons le toit avant l’hiver pour éviter les fuites.

• nous: we
• avant: before
• pour: in order to
• éviter: to avoid

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.