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La plupart arrivent à l'heure.

La plupart arrivent à l'heure.
Most arrive on time.
FromLesson 27inHardcore French

Breakdown of La plupart arrivent à l'heure.

arriver
to arrive
à l'heure
on time
la plupart
most

Questions & Answers about La plupart arrivent à l'heure.

Why is the verb plural (arrivent) when la plupart looks singular?

Because la plupart refers to a group of individuals. In standard French, la plupart always takes a third-person plural verb:

  • La plupart arrivent...
  • La plupart des étudiants réussissent.
Can I say La plupart arrive?

No in standard usage. With la plupart, the verb is plural: La plupart arrivent. If you want a singular feeling (treating the group as a unit), French typically uses la majorité, which can take singular or plural depending on emphasis:

  • Unit focus: La majorité arrive.
  • Individual focus: La majorité arrivent. But with la plupart, use plural.
How do I make it clear who “most” refers to?

Use one of these patterns:

  • La plupart des + plural noun: La plupart des gens arrivent.
  • La plupart de + determinant + plural noun: La plupart de mes amis arrivent.
  • La plupart d’entre + stressed pronoun: La plupart d’entre nous/elles/eux arrivent.
If I say La plupart d’entre nous arrivent, why not arrivons?
Because the grammatical subject is la plupart (third person), not nous. So you must use third-person plural: arrivent. Same with vous/eux/elles after d’entre.
Why à l’heure and not à la heure or au?
  • Heure is feminine, and its initial h is mute, so à la elides to à l’ → à l’heure.
  • Au = à + le (masculine), so it doesn’t apply to heure.
What’s the difference between à l’heure and à temps?
  • À l’heure: at the scheduled/expected time (on time).
  • À temps: in time (before it’s too late/a deadline). Example contrast: Il est arrivé à l’heure, but il est arrivé à temps pour attraper le train.
Could I use être à l’heure instead of arriver à l’heure?

Yes. Both are natural, with a small nuance:

  • Arriver à l’heure focuses on the act of arriving on time.
  • Être à l’heure states someone is on time. Both are fine in everyday speech: La plupart arrivent/La plupart sont à l’heure.
Any pronunciation tips for the whole sentence?
  • Plupart: final t is silent.
  • Arrivent: the -ent is silent, but you make a liaison before a vowel: arrivent à is pronounced with a linking t sound (…ta…).
  • À l’heure: the h in heure is mute, so elision occurs: it flows as one unit. A smooth reading is roughly: la plu-par | a-reev-ta | leur.
Any common spelling pitfalls here?
How would I say it in the past?

Use the passé composé of arriver with être and make agreement:

  • Mixed/masculine group: La plupart sont arrivés à l’heure.
  • All-feminine group: La plupart sont arrivées à l’heure.
Can I use la majorité instead of la plupart?

Often, yes, but note agreement:

  • La majorité (de) can take singular or plural depending on whether you stress the group as a unit or its members: La majorité des élèves réussit/réussissent.
  • La plupart (de) always takes plural: La plupart des élèves réussissent. Also, la plupart is slightly more colloquial/natural in many contexts.
Can I drop the subject like in Spanish or Italian?
No. French requires an explicit subject. You can’t say just Arrivent à l’heure; you need La plupart arrivent à l’heure (or another subject like Ils/Elles arrivent à l’heure).
Can I front à l’heure for emphasis?
Yes, for stylistic emphasis: À l’heure, la plupart arrivent. It’s less neutral than the original but acceptable.
How do I negate it?

Place ne … pas around the verb:

  • La plupart n’arrivent pas à l’heure.
Does la plupart work for things, not just people?

Yes:

  • La plupart des trains arrivent à l’heure.
  • La plupart des commandes sont arrivées.
What’s the difference between la plupart and la plupart du temps?
  • La plupart = most (of them/of the items).
  • La plupart du temps = most of the time. Examples:
  • La plupart arrivent à l’heure.
  • La plupart du temps, ils arrivent à l’heure.
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