Le bouton ne réagit pas; appuie doucement une deuxième fois.

not

Breakdown of Le bouton ne réagit pas; appuie doucement une deuxième fois.

• appuyer: to press
• la fois: the time
• le bouton: the button

Questions & Answers about Le bouton ne réagit pas; appuie doucement une deuxième fois.

Why is there a semicolon (;) instead of a comma or a period?

A semicolon in French links two closely related independent clauses: the first states a situation, the second gives a consequence or instruction. You could also write a period, or use a comma plus a connector like donc/alors. A bare comma between full clauses is less common in careful French.

How does the negation in ne réagit pas work? Can the ne be dropped?

• Standard written French frames the verb with ne … pas: ne
  • réagit
    • pas.
• In casual speech, many speakers drop ne: Le bouton réagit pas. Keep ne in formal writing.

Is réagir the best verb here? What about répondre or fonctionner?

• Réagir is idiomatic for interfaces/devices that don’t respond to input.
• Répondre also works for responsiveness: Le bouton ne répond pas.
• Fonctionner is broader, “to work/function”: Le bouton ne fonctionne pas suggests it’s broken, not just slow.

Why is there no final -s in appuie?