Breakdown of Tu progresses vite en français.
tu
you
en
in
le français
the French
vite
quickly
progresser
to progress
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Questions & Answers about Tu progresses vite en français.
Why is there an s at the end of progresses even though I’m talking to one person?
In French, the second-person singular of regular –ER verbs in the present tense ends in –es. That final s is silent, so tu progresses and il/elle progresse sound the same, even though the spellings differ.
How do I pronounce progresses? Should I pronounce the final s?
You pronounce progresses [pʁɔ.ɡʁɛs]. The final –es is silent. If a vowel followed, you might link it with a liaison and hear a /z/, but here there’s no liaison, so the ending remains mute.
Why is vite used instead of rapidement?
Vite is the common, more conversational adverb for “quickly.” Rapidement is also correct but feels more formal or literary. In everyday speech you’ll hear vite much more often.
Where does vite go in the sentence? Could I say Tu progresses en français vite?
Adverbs of manner like vite normally follow the conjugated verb. Since en français is a prepositional complement, the natural order is tu progresses vite en français. Putting vite at the very end (…en français vite) sounds awkward.
Why is there no article before français? I’d expect “in the French.”
When talking about a language with the preposition en, French omits any article. En français simply means “in French.” Using dans le français would imply a physical or abstract container, not the language itself.
Can I drop the subject pronoun tu like in Spanish?
No. French requires subject pronouns. Tu progresses is correct; omitting tu (e.g. just saying progresses vite) would be ungrammatical because French verbs must agree with an explicit subject.
Could I turn this into a question? How do I ask “Are you progressing quickly in French?”
You have two common options:
- Inversion: Progresses-tu vite en français ?
- Est-ce que: Est-ce que tu progresses vite en français ?
What does the verb progresser mean and where does it come from?
Progresser is a regular –ER verb meaning “to make progress” or “to advance.” It comes from Latin progressus. You use it for growth in skills, studies, projects, and so on.
Could I say Tu fais des progrès en français instead?
Yes. That’s another very common way. Tu fais des progrès en français uses the noun progrès and the verb faire, literally “you make progress in French.” Both sentences convey the same idea.
Why isn’t français capitalized in the French sentence?
In French, language names are common nouns and are written in lowercase. In English we capitalize French, but in French you write le français or en français with a small f.