Learn Hardcore French: Nous restons dans l'ombre parce qu'il fait trop chaud au soleil. - We stay in the shade because it is too hot in the sun.

French has only one simple present tense (nous restons) where English has both the simple present (“we stay”) and the present continuous (“we are staying”). Context tells you which English form is best.

So here, nous restons dans l’ombre = “we’re staying in the shade” (right now), even though the French looks like just “we stay in the shade.”

Could I say nous sommes dans l’ombre instead of nous restons dans l’ombre?

You can say it, but it’s not quite the same:

Nous sommes dans l’ombre = “We are in the shade.”
→ Neutral description of where we are.
Nous restons dans l’ombre = “We’re staying in the shade.”
→ Adds the idea of remaining there / choosing not to move.

In this context (explaining why you’re not going into the sun), nous restons is more natural because it expresses the decision to stay there.

Why is it dans l’ombre and not à l’ombre? What’s the difference?

Both exist, but they’re not used in exactly the same way:

À l’ombre is the most idiomatic for avoiding the sun:
- Rester à l’ombre = “to stay in the shade”
- You’ll hear this all the time in everyday French.
Dans l’ombre literally means “in the shadow” / “in the dark”:
- Can be physical: actually standing inside a shaded/dark area.
- Can be figurative: rester dans l’ombre = “to stay in the background,” “to remain unknown / unnoticed.”

In your sentence, many native speakers would naturally say:

Nous restons à l’ombre parce qu’il fait trop chaud au soleil.

Dans l’ombre isn’t wrong, but it can sound a bit more literal or a bit more “in the dark” depending on context.

Why do we need the article in l’ombre? Why not just dans ombre?

In French, you almost always need an article with a common noun:

l’ombre = the shade / the shadow
dans l’ombre = “in the shade / in the shadows”

Saying dans ombre without an article is ungrammatical. Unlike English, French doesn’t normally drop the article with general concepts like “shade,” “sun,” “water,” etc.

What does parce que mean exactly, and how is it used here?

Parce que means “because” and introduces a reason:

Nous restons dans l’ombre parce qu’il fait trop chaud au soleil.
→ “We’re staying in the shade because it’s too hot in the sun.”

Structure:

[Result]
- parce que
  - [reason]

Example:

Je pars parce que je suis fatigué. = “I’m leaving because I’m tired.”

Why is it parce qu’il and not parce que il?

This is a case of elision (dropping a vowel to make pronunciation smoother):

que ends with a vowel sound [kə]
il begins with a vowel sound [i]

French avoids two vowels in a row, so que becomes qu’ before a word starting with a vowel or a mute h:

parce que + il → parce qu’il
que + elle → qu’elle
que + on → qu’on

In writing, you use the apostrophe; in speech, you pronounce it as one unit: parce qu’il.

In il fait trop chaud, what does il refer to? Is it “he”?

Here, il is an impersonal “it”, not “he.”

French often uses il for weather expressions:

Il fait chaud. = “It’s hot.”
Il pleut. = “It’s raining.”
Il neige. = “It’s snowing.”

There is no real person or thing behind this il; it’s just the grammatical subject needed to make the sentence work, similar to “it” in “it is raining.”

Why do we say il fait chaud instead of c’est chaud for “it’s hot (weather)”?

For weather, French normally uses il fait + adjective:

Il fait chaud. = “It’s hot (out).”
Il fait froid. = “It’s cold.”
Il fait beau. = “The weather is nice.”

C’est chaud is used in other situations, not to give the general weather:

Touching something: Attention, c’est chaud ! = “Careful, that’s hot!”
Figurative: Cette situation, c’est chaud. = “This situation is intense / tricky.”

So for the temperature outside, you want il fait chaud, not c’est chaud.

What’s the difference between trop chaud and très chaud?

très chaud = very hot (strong, but neutral description)
- Il fait très chaud. = “It’s very hot.”
trop chaud = too hot (excessive, more than desirable)
- Il fait trop chaud. = “It’s too hot.”

In your sentence:

il fait trop chaud au soleil = “it’s too hot in the sun,”
which explains why you stay in the shade: the heat is excessive, uncomfortable.

Why is there no de in trop chaud? Why not trop de chaud?

Because here chaud is an adjective, not a noun.

trop + adjective/adverb:
- trop chaud = too hot
- trop froid = too cold
- trop vite = too fast
trop de + noun:
- trop de chaleur = too much heat
- trop de soleil = too much sun

So:

Il fait trop chaud. = It’s too hot.
Il y a trop de chaleur. = There is too much heat.

What exactly does au soleil mean, and how is it formed?

Au soleil means “in the sun / in the sunshine.”

Grammatically, au is a contraction:

à + le = au
à = at / in / to
le = the (masculine singular)
soleil = sun

So:

au soleil = “in the sun”

Examples:

S’asseoir au soleil = to sit in the sun
Sécher son linge au soleil = to dry one’s clothes in the sun

What’s the difference between au soleil and dans le soleil?

In everyday French:

au soleil is the normal expression:
- Il fait trop chaud au soleil. = “It’s too hot in the sun.”
- Se mettre au soleil. = “To go into the sun / sunshine.”
dans le soleil is rare and sounds odd in most contexts; literally “inside the sun,” or sometimes used in very specific poetic or physical senses (walking into a beam of sunlight, etc.).

So for “in the sun” as the opposite of “in the shade,” you should use au soleil, not dans le soleil.

How do you pronounce the sentence? Are there any liaisons or silent letters to know?

Key points:

nous restons
- nous usually [nu], but with liaison before a vowel/consonant like restons you get [nuz ʀɛstɔ̃]
- final -s in nous is normally silent, but pronounced [z] in liaison.
dans l’ombre
- dans = [dɑ̃], but with liaison: dans l’ombre = [dɑ̃ z‿ɔ̃bʀ]
- final -s of dans is silent on its own, [z] in liaison.
parce qu’il
- final -e of parce is silent: [paʁs]
- qu’il = [kil]
- together: [paʁs kil]
fait = [fɛ] (the -t is silent)
chaud = [ʃo] (final -d is silent)
soleil = [sɔ.lɛj]

So a natural pronunciation (with typical liaisons) is roughly:

[nu zʀɛstɔ̃ dɑ̃ z‿ɔ̃bʁ paʁs kil fɛ tʀo ʃo do sɔlɛj]