Breakdown of Tu peux choisir l’option la plus rapide pour arriver à l’heure.
tu
you
rapide
fast
pouvoir
to be able to
pour
in order to
le plus
the most
arriver
to arrive
choisir
to choose
l’option
the option
à l’heure
on time
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Questions & Answers about Tu peux choisir l’option la plus rapide pour arriver à l’heure.
Why does the sentence use tu peux instead of vous pouvez?
In French tu is the informal singular pronoun (used with friends, family, or peers), while vous is either formal singular or plural. This sentence is casual, so it uses tu peux (“you can” informally) rather than the more formal or plural vous pouvez.
Why is l’option written with an apostrophe instead of la option?
French does not allow two vowel sounds to collide between words. la option becomes l’option by eliding the a in la before the vowel o in option, which makes the phrase smoother to pronounce.
Why is la plus rapide placed after the noun option, rather than before it?
Most French adjectives, including superlatives, come after the noun they modify. Here, l’option (the noun) is followed by la plus rapide (the superlative adjective phrase), giving you “the fastest option.”
Why do we need la before plus rapide? Couldn’t we just say plus rapide?
To form a superlative in French, you need a definite article (matching the noun’s gender and number) + plus + adjective. Since option is feminine singular, the structure is la plus rapide (“the fastest”).
Why is pour arriver used instead of de arriver?
In French, to express purpose (“in order to …”), you use pour + infinitive. de + infinitive does not convey purpose. Thus pour arriver literally means “in order to arrive.”
Why do we say arriver à l’heure? Could we use another preposition like en or dans?
The idiomatic expression for “arrive on time” in French is arriver à l’heure. Using en l’heure or dans l’heure would change the meaning or sound ungrammatical:
- dans l’heure = “within an hour”
- en
- time expression generally means “in X time” (e.g., en une heure = “in one hour”)
What’s the difference between arriver à l’heure and arriver en avance?
- arriver à l’heure means to arrive exactly on time (neither early nor late).
- arriver en avance means to arrive ahead of schedule, i.e., early.
Can we add possible to say “the fastest option possible”? How would that look?
Yes. You would say l’option la plus rapide possible. You simply tack possible onto the end of the superlative phrase.
Why does this sentence say tu peux choisir instead of giving a direct command like choisis?
Using tu peux choisir (“you can choose”) is softer and suggests the listener has an option. A direct imperative choisis l’option… (“choose the option…”) would sound more like a strict order.
What’s the difference between choisir and sélectionner here?
Both verbs mean “to choose” or “to select,” but:
- choisir is the everyday, idiomatic way to talk about making a choice
- sélectionner is more formal or technical (often used in administrative, digital, or scientific contexts)