Log inSign up

Je regarde l’écran avant d’envoyer un message.

Je regarde l’écran avant d’envoyer un message.
I look at the screen before sending a message.
FromLesson 20inHardcore French
……

Breakdown of Je regarde l’écran avant d’envoyer un message.

je
I
avant
before
de
of
envoyer
to send
le message
the message
regarder
to look at
l’écran
the screen
AI Language TutorTry it ↗
“How does grammatical gender work in French?”
Every French noun is either masculine or feminine, and this affects the articles and adjectives used with it. "Le" is used with masculine nouns and "la" with feminine ones. Adjectives also change form to match — for example, "petit" (masc.) becomes "petite" (fem.).

Sign up free — start using our AI language tutor

Start learning French

Master French — from Je regarde l’écran avant d’envoyer un message to fluency

All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods.

  • ✓ Infinitely deep — unlimited vocabulary and grammar
  • ✓ Fast-paced — build complex sentences from the start
  • ✓ Unforgettable — efficient spaced repetition system
  • ✓ AI tutor to answer your grammar questions
Start learning French freeBrowse the full course

More from this lesson

le pantalonJ'achète un pantalon bleu.Je le porte souvent au travail.la vesteJe porte la veste quand il fait froid.Tu as une veste légère ; tu la portes quand il fait frais.la pairela chaussette

Questions & Answers about Je regarde l’écran avant d’envoyer un message.

Why is there an apostrophe in l’écran instead of writing le écran?
In French, when the definite article le or la comes before a word that starts with a vowel (or a mute h), the vowel in the article is dropped and replaced by an apostrophe. So le écran becomes l’écran to avoid the awkward vowel clash.
Why is regarde in the present tense when we talk about looking before sending a message?
French often uses the simple present to describe actions that happen immediately or habitually. Here, je regarde l’écran avant d’envoyer un message means “I look at the screen before sending a message,” describing either a routine or an action you’re doing right now. It’s equivalent to “I look” rather than “I am looking,” although you could add emphasis with je suis en train de regarder if you want to stress the ongoing action.
Why do we say avant d’envoyer instead of avant envoyer?
When you use avant with a verb, you need the preposition de before the infinitive: avant de + infinitive. Because envoyer begins with a vowel, de contracts to d’, giving avant d’envoyer. Omitting de would be ungrammatical.
Why is envoyer in the infinitive form here?

After avant de, French always uses the infinitive because both actions share the same subject (je). The structure is:
• avant de + [infinitive] when the subjects don’t change.
If you change the subject, you must use avant que + subjunctive.

Could I say Je regarde l’écran avant que j’envoie un message instead?

Yes, but when you use avant que, you must switch to the subjunctive: avant que j’envoie. So you’d get:
Je regarde l’écran avant que j’envoie un message.
However, avant de + infinitive is more common and simpler when the subject stays je.

What’s the difference between avant de + infinitive and avant que + subjunctive?

• avant de + infinitive:
– Use when the subject of both verbs is the same.
– Very common in everyday speech and writing.
• avant que + subjunctive:
– Required when the subject changes (e.g., avant que tu partes).
– Sometimes used for stylistic or formal reasons even if the subject is the same.

Why is the article un used before message instead of le or mon?
Un message is the indefinite article, meaning “a message” (any message). If you meant a specific message you’d already mentioned, you’d use le message (“the message”). If it were your message, you could say mon message (“my message”). Here the speaker refers generally to “sending a message.”