Nous nous reposons sur un banc devant la gare.

We rest on a bench in front of the train station.

Breakdown of Nous nous reposons sur un banc devant la gare.

• sur: on
• nous: we
• nous: ourselves
• devant: in front of
• la gare: the train station
• se reposer: to rest
• le banc: the bench

Questions & Answers about Nous nous reposons sur un banc devant la gare.

Why is nous written twice in Nous nous reposons?

French reflexive verbs use two pronouns:

• The first nous is the subject pronoun: nous = we.
• The second nous is the reflexive pronoun: se changes to nous with nous.

The verb is se reposer (to rest). Conjugated with nous in the present:

• subject: nous
• reflexive pronoun: nous
• verb: reposons

So: Nous nous reposons = We are resting / We rest.

Could I just say Nous reposons instead of Nous nous reposons?

Normally, no.

• se reposer = to rest (yourself), to have a rest.
• reposer (without se) usually means to rest something, to put something down again, or to be based on.

Examples:

• Je repose le livre. = I put the book down again.
• Cela repose sur une erreur. = That is based on a mistake.

When you mean people are resting, you almost always need the reflexive: se reposer → Nous nous reposons.

Does Nous nous reposons mean “we rest” or “we are resting”?

It can mean both. French has only one present tense for these two English forms.

• Nous nous reposons.
  
  • We rest.
  • We are resting.

Context normally makes the meaning clear. If you really need to emphasize the ongoing action, you can add something like:

• Nous sommes en train de nous reposer. = We are in the middle of resting / We are resting (right now).

Why is it sur un banc and not sur le banc?

It depends on whether the bench is specific or not.

• sur un banc = on a bench (any bench, not identified before)
• sur le banc = on the bench (a particular one that both speakers know about)

In a neutral sentence where you introduce the idea of sitting somewhere, French naturally uses the indefinite article: un banc.

Why do we use devant la gare and not en face de la gare or avant la gare?

These three expressions are different:

• devant la gare = in front of the station, just outside it, in the area before its entrance.
• en face de la gare = opposite the station, facing it (usually across a street or square).
• avant la gare = before the station, but this is mostly used for time or order (e.g., a stop before the station, a place earlier on a route), not for “standing in front of the building”.

So devant la gare is the normal choice for “in front of the station” in a physical, immediate sense.

What is the difference between la gare and la station in French?

Both can translate as station, but they’re used differently:

• la gare = usually a train station (also sometimes a big bus/coach terminal).

  • la gare SNCF, la gare de Lyon etc.

• la station = more general “station”:

  • la station de métro = metro/subway station
  • la station-service = gas station
  • la station de ski = ski resort

In your sentence, la gare is the normal word for the main train station.

Why is it la gare but un banc? How do I know the gender?

In French, every noun has a grammatical gender:

• la gare is feminine (so it takes la).
• un banc is masculine (so it takes un).

There are some patterns (for example, many nouns in -tion are feminine, many in -ment are masculine), but gare and banc don’t give a clear rule just from their endings. For common words, you usually have to learn the gender together with the noun:

• la gare (feminine)
• un banc (masculine)

Could I say On se repose sur un banc devant la gare instead of Nous nous reposons…?

Yes, and it’s very natural.

• Nous nous reposons = we rest (more formal, used in writing, careful speech).
• On se repose = we rest (very common in everyday spoken French).

On is grammatically third person singular, but in many contexts it means we. The verb form changes:

• Nous nous reposons
• On se repose

How do you pronounce Nous nous reposons sur un banc devant la gare?

A common standard pronunciation (French from France) is roughly:

• [nu nu ʁəpozɔ̃ syʁ œ̃ bɑ̃ dəvɑ̃ la ɡaʁ]

Notes:

• Final -s in nous is silent.
• reposons: the -ent is silent, but the on is nasal [ɔ̃].
• sur = [syʁ].
• un = nasal vowel [œ̃].
• banc is usually pronounced [bɑ̃]; the final c is silent.
• devant = [dəvɑ̃].
• gare = [ɡaʁ], with a hard g like in English go.

How would I say this sentence in the past or in the future?

With se reposer, the compound tenses use être as the auxiliary, and the past participle usually agrees with the subject (when the reflexive pronoun is a direct object).

• Past (passé composé):

  • Nous nous sommes reposés sur un banc devant la gare.
    
    • If “we” is all women: reposées.

• Future (futur simple):

  • Nous nous reposerons sur un banc devant la gare.

Meaning:

• Nous nous sommes reposés… = We rested / We had a rest…
• Nous nous reposerons… = We will rest / We will have a rest…