Avant, ses muscles étaient plus faibles.

Before, his muscles were weaker.

Breakdown of Avant, ses muscles étaient plus faibles.

• être: to be
• avant: before
• plus: more
• ses: his

Questions & Answers about Avant, ses muscles étaient plus faibles.

What part of speech is Avant in this sentence?

Here Avant is an adverb of time meaning “previously” or “before (in time).” It’s not the preposition avant + de; it simply sets the scene in the past.

Why is it ses and not son or sa?

Ses is the third-person plural possessive adjective (“his” or “her”). Because muscles is plural, you always use ses regardless of the gender of the owner.

Why is muscles plural here?

In French, muscle usually refers to any individual muscle or the concept of muscle. When speaking of someone’s overall strength or physique, you pluralize it: ses muscles (their muscles).

Why is the verb étaient in the imparfait and not in the passé composé (ont été) or passé simple (furent)?

The imparfait describes an ongoing or habitual state in the past. Here we’re talking about how their muscles used to be weaker over a period of time, not a one-off event, so imparfait (ils étaient) is the natural choice.

Why is there no que after plus faibles for the comparative?