Breakdown of Demain matin, c’est le meilleur moment: la file d’attente y est courte.
être
to be
le matin
the morning
demain
tomorrow
c'
it
le moment
the moment
y
there
meilleur
best
court
short
la file d'attente
the line
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Questions & Answers about Demain matin, c’est le meilleur moment: la file d’attente y est courte.
Why is it c’est and not il est?
- Use c’est before a noun or noun phrase: c’est le meilleur moment.
- Il est is used before adjectives or professions without an article: il est tard, il est médecin.
- Saying Il est le meilleur moment is ungrammatical.
What does y refer to here?
- y means there and refers to a place already known from context (the store, office, etc.).
- It does not refer to time; y cannot mean “then/at that time.”
- If you want to refer to the time, use something like à ce moment-là.
Why meilleur and not mieux?
- meilleur/e/s is an adjective used with nouns: le meilleur moment.
- mieux is an adverb used with verbs or whole clauses: Demain matin, c’est mieux.
- Superlative with a noun needs the definite article: le meilleur.
Why is it courte and not court?
- Agreement: courte modifies la file (feminine singular), the head of la file d’attente.
- Forms: court (m), courte (f), courts (m pl), courtes (f pl).
What exactly does la file d’attente mean and how is it built?
- Literally “line of waiting,” i.e., a queue.
- file (feminine noun) + de
- attente (feminine noun).
- d’ is the elision of de before a vowel: d’attente.
- Plural: les files d’attente.
Is the comma after Demain matin necessary?
- It’s optional but common after an initial time expression.
- Both are acceptable: Demain matin, c’est… and Demain matin c’est….
Should there be a space before the colon in French?
- Yes. Standard French typography uses a (non‑breaking) thin space before :
- Typographically preferred: moment : la file…
- Many people omit it online, but the spaced version is the norm.
Why is the order y est and not est y? How do I negate or ask a question?
- Clitic pronouns like y come before the conjugated verb: y est.
- Negation: La file d’attente n’y est pas courte.
- Yes/no question (inversion): La file d’attente y est-elle courte ?
- With est-ce que: Est-ce que la file d’attente y est courte ?
Can I say Demain matin est le meilleur moment instead?
- It’s grammatical but less idiomatic.
- French prefers the cleft-like Demain matin, c’est le meilleur moment, which sounds more natural and emphatic.
Could I use la queue instead of la file d’attente?
- Yes: la queue is common in everyday speech, especially in faire la queue.
- la file (d’attente) sounds a bit more neutral/formal.
- Avoid ambiguity in contexts where queue could be misread; here it’s fine.
Is Demain au matin correct? What about demain dans la matinée?
- Demain matin is the most standard.
- Demain au matin is regional (more common in Canada/Belgium); rare in France.
- Demain dans la matinée means “sometime during the morning,” less specific than “tomorrow morning.”
How would I say “the line there is the shortest”?
- Use the superlative of the adjective: La file d’attente y est la plus courte (often completed with a reference set: …du quartier, …de la journée, etc.).
- Another natural phrasing: C’est là que la file d’attente est la plus courte.
Is y required, or can I just say La file d’attente est courte?
- y is only needed if you want to point back to a specific place already known (“there”).
- If the location is obvious from context, you can drop y: La file d’attente est courte.
Shouldn’t it be le meilleur moment pour… something?
- C’est le meilleur moment is fine on its own.
- To be more explicit, add an infinitive: C’est le meilleur moment pour y aller, …pour visiter, etc.
Any pronunciation tips for tricky parts like y est?
- y est is pronounced like one syllable [jɛ] (roughly “yé”).
- meilleur [mɛ.jœʁ]; attente [a.tɑ̃t]; courte [kuʁt].
- Link the rhythm: Demain matin | c’est le meilleur moment | la file d’attente y est courte.