Breakdown of Je mets mes lunettes pour lire le petit texte sur la bouteille.
je
I
petit
small
sur
on
lire
to read
le texte
the text
pour
in order to
mes
my
mettre
to put on
la bouteille
the bottle
les lunettes
the glasses
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Questions & Answers about Je mets mes lunettes pour lire le petit texte sur la bouteille.
Why is mettre used here instead of porter?
In French, mettre means “to put on” (the action of placing something on your body), whereas porter means “to wear” (the state or condition of having it on). You mettez your glasses when you start wearing them and portez them while they remain on.
Why are lunettes plural?
The word lunettes (glasses) is always plural in French because you speak of une paire de lunettes (a pair of glasses). There is no singular lunette to refer to the entire item.
Why mes lunettes instead of les lunettes?
Mes is a possessive adjective meaning “my,” which specifies that the glasses belong to you. You could use les if the glasses were already clearly identified in context, but mes makes it clear they are your own.
What does pour lire mean here?
Pour + infinitive expresses purpose (“in order to”). So pour lire literally means “to read” or “in order to read.”
Can I use afin de instead of pour?
Yes. Afin de also indicates purpose and is slightly more formal. You could say: Je mets mes lunettes afin de lire le petit texte sur la bouteille.
Why is it le petit texte and not un petit texte?
Le is the definite article used for a specific, known text (the one on the bottle). Un would be the indefinite article for any small text in general.
Why does petit come before texte?
Although most French adjectives follow the noun, certain adjectives of size, beauty, age, and goodness (the BAGS group) typically come before. Petit is a size adjective, so it precedes texte.
Why sur la bouteille? Could I say dans la bouteille?
You use sur (“on”) because the text is printed on the surface of the bottle. Dans (“in”) would imply the text is inside the bottle, which isn’t what you mean here.
How do I say “in order to read it,” referring to the text?
Place the direct-object pronoun le before the infinitive:
Je mets mes lunettes pour le lire.
Can I drop the subject pronoun je as in Spanish?
No. In French, subject pronouns (je, tu, il, etc.) are mandatory. You must say Je mets; you cannot omit je.