Question 1

Why is the verb phrase serrer la main used to mean “to shake hands” in French?

Accepted Answer

Serrer literally means “to squeeze,” “to grip,” or “to tighten.” When you combine it with la main, you get the idiomatic expression serrer la main—“to squeeze the hand”—which corresponds exactly to the English “to shake hands.”

Question 2

Why do we say serrer la main de mon collègue instead of using the preposition à?

Accepted Answer

When you name the person with a full noun phrase, French typically uses de:  
  • serrer la main de quelqu’un  
If you replace that noun phrase with an indirect‐object pronoun, you switch to à:  
  • Je lui serre la main.

Question 3

Can I say je le serre la main to mean “I shake his hand”?

Accepted Answer

No. The correct pronoun structure is Je lui serre la main. Here, la main remains the direct object, and lui (him/her) is the indirect‐object pronoun.

Question 4

Why is it mon collègue and not ma collègue?

Accepted Answer

You must match the gender of collègue to the person.  
  • If your colleague is male, you say mon collègue.  
  • If your colleague is female, you say ma collègue.  
Note that collègue itself ends with the same spelling for masculine and feminine; it’s the possessive adjective that changes.

Question 5

What’s the difference between chaque matin and tous les matins?

Accepted Answer

Both mean “every morning,” but:  
  • Chaque matin (each morning) uses a singular noun.  
  • Tous les matins (all the mornings) uses a plural noun.  
They’re largely interchangeable, though tous les matins is more common in casual speech.

Question 6

Why use au travail instead of dans le travail or au bureau?

Accepted Answer

• Au travail = “at work” (your place of work in general).  
  • Dans le travail would literally mean “in the work” (as in “in the task”), which is not used for location.  
  • If you mean “at the office,” you’d say au bureau.

Question 7

Can I move chaque matin to the end: “Je serre la main de mon collègue au travail chaque matin”?

Accepted Answer

Yes. French allows time expressions at the beginning or end of a sentence without changing the meaning:  
  • Chaque matin, je serre la main…  
  • Je serre la main… chaque matin.

Question 8

How does serrer la main differ from faire la bise?

Accepted Answer

• Serrer la main = “to shake hands” (a firm grip once or twice).  
  • Faire la bise = “to give cheek kisses” (usually one to three light kisses on alternating cheeks), a different social greeting in French culture.

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