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La plupart arrivent à l'heure.

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

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

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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?
  • It’s one word: plupart, not plus part.
  • Always la with plupart: la plupart (fixed feminine form).
  • Write à l’heure with the accent on à and the apostrophe before heure.
  • Don’t pluralize heure in this expression: it’s à l’heure, not à les heures.
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.