Breakdown of Le chat veut sauter sur l'étagère, mais il ne saute que si la porte est fermée.
être
to be
le chat
the cat
sur
on
vouloir
to want
si
if
mais
but
la porte
the door
il
it
fermé
closed
ne ... que
only
l'étagère
the shelf
sauter
to jump
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Questions & Answers about Le chat veut sauter sur l'étagère, mais il ne saute que si la porte est fermée.
Why is there no preposition between veut and sauter? Why not “veut de sauter”?
In French, the verb vouloir is directly followed by an infinitive without a preposition. Compare:
- Je veux partir. (I want to leave.)
- Elle veut manger. (She wants to eat.)
Adding de would be ungrammatical here.
What does sur l’étagère mean, and why use sur?
Sur means on or onto. When you say sauter sur l’étagère, you indicate movement onto the shelf. Note that sur + l’ contracts because étagère starts with a vowel.
What is the function of mais in this sentence?
Mais means but. It introduces a contrast between two actions:
- The cat wants to jump onto the shelf.
- In reality, it only jumps under a specific condition.
Why is there ne … que around saute? What does it mean?
Ne … que is a restrictive construction meaning only. So:
- il ne saute que si → he only jumps if
Despite the ne, there is no negative meaning—only the restriction.
Why use si and not quand or lorsque?
Here si introduces a condition (“only if the door is closed”).
- quand or lorsque would mean “when” in a temporal sense, not “if/condition.”
Is la porte est fermée a passive construction?
No. It’s a stative use of the past participle fermée as an adjective describing the door’s state.
- Passive voice would require an agent (e.g., la porte est fermée par Paul), but here we simply say the door is closed.
Why is the cat referred to as il in the second clause instead of repeating Le chat?
French uses a subject pronoun (il) to avoid repetition. After introducing Le chat, you replace it with il when it performs the next action.
Why is the whole sentence in the present tense?
The présent de l’indicatif in French can express:
- A current action.
- A habitual or general truth.
Here it describes the cat’s regular behaviour: “He wants to jump… but only jumps if…”
Could you translate il ne saute que si la porte est fermée word-for-word?
A close word-for-word:
- il → he
- ne → (marker of restriction)
- saute → jumps
- que → only
- si → if
- la porte → the door
- est → is
- fermée → closed
Putting it naturally: he only jumps if the door is closed.
What’s the difference between la porte est fermée and la porte se ferme?
- la porte est fermée uses être + past participle as an adjective → “the door is closed” (state).
- la porte se ferme uses the pronominal form of fermer → “the door closes” (action of closing, often automatic or reflexive).