Breakdown of Dès que nous sommes arrivés, l’avion est reparti et la plante de l’entrée a reçu trop de vent.
et
and
nous
we
de
of
recevoir
to receive
arriver
to arrive
l'entrée
the entrance
trop
too much
le vent
the wind
la plante
the plant
l'avion
the plane
dès que
as soon as
repartir
to leave again
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Questions & Answers about Dès que nous sommes arrivés, l’avion est reparti et la plante de l’entrée a reçu trop de vent.
In time clauses like "dès que," which tense should I use for future and past?
- Future reference: use the future in both clauses: Dès que nous arriverons, l’avion repartira.
- Past, everyday style: use the passé composé: Dès que nous sommes arrivés, l’avion est reparti.
- Literary style: passé antérieur + passé simple: Dès qu’il fut arrivé, il repartit.
Do I need the subjunctive after "dès que"?
No. Dès que takes the indicative (present, future, passé composé, etc.), not the subjunctive: Dès que nous arriverons… / Dès que nous sommes arrivés…
Why is it "nous sommes arrivés" with être, not avoir?
- Arriver is an intransitive verb of movement and uses être in the passé composé.
- Other common verbs that take être: aller, venir, partir, entrer, sortir, monter, descendre, naître, mourir, rester, retourner, tomber.
Why does "arrivés" end with -s?
- With être, the past participle agrees with the subject.
- Nous = plural, so add -s: arrivés (mixed/men) or arrivées (all women).
- Singular: Je suis arrivé/arrivée. Informal plural subject: On est arrivés/arrivées (agrees in sense).
Why is it "est reparti" and not "a reparti"?
- Repartir (to leave again) is intransitive and takes être, hence est reparti.
- Don’t confuse with répartir (to distribute), which is transitive and takes avoir: Ils ont réparti les tâches.
Why doesn’t "reparti" have an -e or -s here?
- With être, the participle agrees with the subject.
- L’avion is masculine singular → reparti. Feminine: La voiture est repartie; plural: Les avions sont repartis.
Should "reçu" agree with "la plante"? Why not "reçue"?
- With avoir, the participle does not agree with the subject: la plante a reçu.
- It only agrees with a direct object placed before the verb: Les rafales qu’elle a reçues…
- Here, the object trop de vent comes after, so no agreement.
Why is it "trop de vent" and not "trop du vent"?
- After quantity words (trop, beaucoup, peu, assez, tant, pas mal), use bare de
- noun: trop de vent.
- Use du only for a simple partitive without a quantity word: Il y a du vent.
Why is "vent" singular here? Can we say "vents"?
- For “wind” as a mass, French uses the singular: trop de vent.
- Plural vents appears in set expressions/technical or poetic uses (e.g., trade winds).
Does "la plante de l’entrée" sound natural? Would "à l’entrée" be better?
- De l’entrée can imply the plant “of the entryway” (belonging/associated with that area).
- À l’entrée emphasizes location: “at the entrance.”
- Both are fine; for simple location, la plante à l’entrée is very common. Note: plante d’intérieur means “houseplant,” not location.
Why "de l’entrée" and not "de la entrée"?
Elision: de la + vowel/silent h → de l’. Same with l’avion from le avion → l’avion.
Is the comma after the "dès que" clause necessary?
- When the subordinate clause comes first, a comma is standard: Dès que nous sommes arrivés, …
- If the main clause comes first, you usually omit it: L’avion est reparti dès que nous sommes arrivés.
Could we use the imparfait (arrivions/repartait) here?
- Not for single, completed events. Imparfait is for background or repeated/habitual actions.
- Habitual meaning: Dès que nous arrivions, l’avion repartait (= whenever we arrived, it would leave).
When would plus-que-parfait or passé antérieur be used with "dès que"?
- To place actions prior to another past point: Dès que nous étions arrivés, l’avion était reparti (both earlier than some later past context).
- Literary: Dès que nous fûmes arrivés, l’avion repartit.
Is it "des que" or "dès que"? What’s the difference?
- Dès que (with accent) means “as soon as.”
- Des (no accent) is the plural article (“some”). Writing des que is a spelling mistake here.
Any pronunciation tips (liaisons/elisions) in this sentence?
- Obligatory liaison: sommes arrivés → the final s of sommes links as a [z] sound.
- Liaison after est: est reparti → the silent t of est links as [t].
- Elisions: l’avion, de l’entrée.
Could we say "redécoller" instead of "repartir" for a plane?
- Repartir = “leave/set off again” (general).
- Redécoller = “take off again” (wheels leaving the ground). Use it only if you mean the plane actually took off again.