Breakdown of Ces chaussettes sont confortables, je les garde pour dormir.
je
I
être
to be
pour
for
confortable
comfortable
ces
these
garder
to keep
les
them
dormir
to sleep
la chaussette
the sock
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Questions & Answers about Ces chaussettes sont confortables, je les garde pour dormir.
Why is ces used at the beginning of the sentence?
Ces is the plural form of the demonstrative adjective ce. In English it corresponds to these or those. You use ces before any plural noun (masculine or feminine), so ces chaussettes means these socks.
Why do we say sont confortables instead of est confortable?
Because chaussettes is plural, the verb must be plural too: elles sont (they are). Likewise, the adjective agrees in number (and gender): confortables is the feminine-plural form of confortable. If you had one sock (une chaussette), you’d say elle est confortable.
What does the pronoun les refer to, and why is it used here?
Les is the direct-object pronoun that replaces ces chaussettes in the second clause. Instead of repeating chaussettes, you say je les garde (I keep them). Because chaussettes is feminine-plural, the object pronoun is les (the same for both genders in plural).
Why is les placed before garde instead of after it?
In French, object pronouns normally precede the conjugated verb. So you never say je garde les, but je les garde. (The one exception is the affirmative imperative: Garde-les !).
What exactly does je les garde pour dormir mean?
Literally it means I keep them for sleeping. In context it implies “I’ll reserve these socks to wear when I sleep.” You’re not tossing them out or wearing them now; you’re saving them for bedtime.
Why is pour followed by the infinitive dormir? Could you use another expression?
Pour + infinitive expresses purpose: in order to or for (the purpose of). Here it shows why you’re keeping the socks. You could replace pour with afin de (more formal): je les garde afin de dormir, but pour dormir is more common in everyday speech.
Could you say je garde ces chaussettes pour dormir instead of using les? What’s the difference?
Yes, you can repeat the full noun: je garde ces chaussettes pour dormir. It’s perfectly correct but more wordy. Using les makes the sentence smoother by avoiding repetition.
Why is garde used here? Does it mean “to wear”?
Garder means to keep (reserve or retain), not to wear (porter). If you wanted to say “I wear them to sleep,” you’d use porter: je les porte pour dormir. But je les garde pour dormir means “I keep them aside for sleeping.”