Breakdown of Le service des urgences est ouvert la nuit.
Questions & Answers about Le service des urgences est ouvert la nuit.
In French, every noun has a grammatical gender. Service is masculine, so it takes the masculine article le.
- le service = the service (masculine)
- la is only used with feminine nouns (e.g. la voiture, la maison).
You simply have to memorize that service is masculine: un service, le service.
Literally, le service des urgences means “the emergency department” or “the emergency services (department)” in a hospital.
In everyday English, we usually say:
- the ER (US)
- A&E (Accident & Emergency, UK)
- the emergency room / emergency department
So le service des urgences is the hospital department where they treat urgent cases.
In French, de + les always contracts to des.
- de + les urgences → des urgences
So grammatically des urgences = “of the emergencies” / “of the emergency department”.
You never say de les urgences; the correct form is always des urgences.
In French, the emergency department is almost always referred to in the plural:
- les urgences = literally “the emergencies,” but it means “the emergency room / the ER.”
So:
- aller aux urgences = to go to the ER
- le service des urgences = the emergency department
Even though in English we often use the singular (“emergency”), French uses the plural urgences for the department. It’s just a standard expression to memorize.
They are closely related but not identical:
- le service des urgences = the emergency department/service (more formal, the whole unit)
- les urgences = the ER in everyday speech
Examples:
- Je travaille au service des urgences. = I work in the emergency department.
- Je vais aux urgences. = I’m going to the ER.
So in your sentence, they use the more formal full name of the department.
Ouvrir is the verb “to open.”
Its past participle is ouvert. Here, ouvert is used as an adjective meaning “open.”
- Le service… est ouvert. = The department is open.
You cannot say est ouvrir (that would be like saying “is to open”).
You also don’t say ouvré; ouvert is the correct form.
So the structure is:
- [subject] + être + ouvert(e)(s) = [subject] is open.
The adjective ouvert(e) agrees with the gender and number of the noun it describes.
- service is masculine singular → ouvert (masculine singular)
- If the noun were feminine singular, it would be ouverte:
- La pharmacie est ouverte. = The pharmacy is open.
So:
- Le service… est ouvert. (masculine)
- La clinique… est ouverte. (feminine)
Grammatically, it looks like a passive form (être + past participle), but in this sentence it functions as a state, not an action.
- Le service des urgences est ouvert la nuit.
= The ER is open at night (describing its state/hours).
If you wanted to emphasize the action of opening (true passive), you’d usually add a complement:
- Le service des urgences est ouvert à 20 h par l’infirmier. = It is opened at 8 p.m. by the nurse.
In everyday sentences about business hours, est ouvert is understood as “is open (for business)”, not as “is being opened.”
French often uses a definite article where English doesn’t.
- la nuit = literally “the night,” but often just means “at night / during the night” in a general, habitual sense.
In this sentence:
- …est ouvert la nuit. = “…is open at night.”
Compare:
- J’aime lire la nuit. = I like reading at night.
- Je travaille la nuit. = I work nights / at night.
Without the article (nuit alone) would sound incomplete here.
Yes:
la nuit (by itself) = generally at night / during the night, often as a regular period:
- Le service est ouvert la nuit. = It is open at night (in general).
dans la nuit = “during the night” / “in the night”, often referring to a particular night or to something happening within that time span:
- L’accident a eu lieu dans la nuit. = The accident took place during the night.
In your sentence, we’re talking about regular opening hours, so la nuit is correct.
Grammatically, yes, and the meaning changes:
- …est ouvert la nuit. = is open at night.
- …est ouvert le jour. = is open in the daytime / during the day.
- …est ouvert la journée. = is open all day (throughout the day).
La journée emphasizes the whole duration of the day, more than just le jour, which is more neutral.
There is a mandatory liaison between des and urgences:
- des urgences = /dez‿yʁʒɑ̃s/
Broken down:
- des → dé (with a z sound linking)
- urgences → roughly ur-zhans
So it sounds like: dé-zur-zhans.
Common expressions are:
- au service des urgences = at the emergency department
- aux urgences = at the ER (more common in everyday speech)
Examples:
- Il travaille au service des urgences. = He works in the emergency department.
- Elle est aux urgences. = She’s at the ER.