Le chat reste au chaud dans la maison.

the cat

Breakdown of Le chat reste au chaud dans la maison.

• la maison: the house
• dans: in
• rester: to stay

Questions & Answers about Le chat reste au chaud dans la maison.

Why is reste used instead of est?

The verb rester means “to stay” or “to remain,” implying that the cat continues to be somewhere by choice or habit. If you said Le chat est au chaud dans la maison, it would simply state “The cat is warm in the house” without the nuance of “staying” warm there. Rester adds the idea of persistence in that cozy spot.

What does au chaud mean, literally and idiomatically?

Literally, au is the contraction of à le (“to the” or “at the”) and chaud means “warm.” So au chaud is “at the warmth” or “in the warmth.” Idiomatically, it means “in a warm/cozy place” or “keeping warm.”

How does the contraction au work in French?

In French, whenever à (to/at) meets the masculine singular definite article le (the), they fuse into au.
Examples:
• Je vais au cinéma. (not à le cinéma)
• Je donne un cadeau au garçon. (not à le garçon)
This contraction is mandatory.

Why use dans la maison? Could I say à la maison? What’s the difference?