Nous renforçons le pont avant l'hiver.

We strengthen the bridge before winter.

Breakdown of Nous renforçons le pont avant l'hiver.

• nous: we
• avant: before
• l'hiver: the winter
• le pont: the bridge
• renforcer: to strengthen

Questions & Answers about Nous renforçons le pont avant l'hiver.

Why is there a cedilla under the c in renforçons?

The verb renforcer ends in -cer, and in the nous form you normally add -ons, which would give renforcons. However, c before o or a is pronounced /k/ in French. To keep the soft /s/ sound, you replace c with ç. Hence nous renforçons is pronounced /nu ʁɑ̃.fɔʁ.sɔ̃/.

Why is the action in the present tense (nous renforçons) when it refers to something happening before winter (the future)?

French commonly uses the present tense to describe near-future events, especially with a time expression like avant l’hiver. It implies “we will strengthen the bridge before winter comes.” You could use the simple future (Nous renforcerons le pont avant l’hiver), but the present is more natural for planned or imminent actions.

Shouldn’t there be de after avant, since in English we say “before leaving,” “before winter”?

When avant is followed by a noun, you use avant + definite article + noun (here avant l’hiver). You only use avant de when it precedes an infinitive verb, e.g. avant de partir (“before leaving”).

Do we pronounce the t in avant when it’s followed by l’hiver?

Yes—this is a liaison. Because l’hiver begins with a vowel sound, you link it and pronounce the t: /avɑ̃t livɛʁ/.

Can you say Renforçons le pont avant l’hiver without nous? What would that mean?

Yes. Renforçons le pont avant l’hiver ! is the imperative (Let’s strengthen the bridge…). By dropping nous, you switch from the indicative (“We strengthen…”) to an invitation or command (“Let’s strengthen…”). If you keep nous renforçons, it’s simply stating the action in the present tense.

Why doesn’t renforcer take a preposition before its object, like “reinforce on the bridge”?

Renforcer is a transitive verb in French, so it directly takes its object without a preposition: renforcer quelque chose (reinforce something). You say renforcer le pont, not renforcer sur le pont.

Why is it le pont and not un pont?

The definite article le is used when you’re talking about a specific or known bridge. If you meant any bridge in a general sense, you could say un pont, but here the context implies a particular bridge that both speaker and listener understand.