Elles montent sur la scène pendant le concert.

They go up onto the stage during the concert.

Breakdown of Elles montent sur la scène pendant le concert.

• pendant: during
• le concert: the concert
• monter: to go up
• sur: onto
• la scène: the stage
• elles: they

Questions & Answers about Elles montent sur la scène pendant le concert.

Why is it elles and not ils?

In French, the subject pronoun must match both number and gender of the group:

• elles = “they” for an all‑female group
• ils = “they” for an all‑male group or a mixed group

So Elles montent… tells us the group is entirely female.
If at least one man is in the group, you must use Ils montent sur la scène pendant le concert.

What tense is montent, and how is it formed?

Montent is the present tense, third‑person plural of the verb monter (to go up, to climb, to get on).

The present of monter:

• je monte
• tu montes
• il / elle / on monte
• nous montons
• vous montez
• ils / elles montent

So with elles, you use elles montent.
The ending -ent is the normal present‑tense ending for ils/elles with regular ‑er verbs. It is not pronounced (it’s silent).

How do you pronounce Elles montent sur la scène pendant le concert?

Rough pronunciation (English-style):

• Elles ≈ “ell”
• montent ≈ “mont” (like “mon” in “Montreal”; final -ent is silent)
• sur ≈ “syur” (like “sir” but with French u, lips rounded)
• la ≈ “lah”
• scène ≈ “sen” (short e, like “sen” in “sent”)
• pendant ≈ “pahn-dahn” (final t silent)
• le ≈ “luh”
• concert ≈ “kon-sehr” (final t silent)

Connected, it sounds roughly like:

Ell mont syur la sen pahn-dahn luh kon-sehr

Why do we say sur la scène and not à la scène?

Because French uses sur (on, onto) for movement onto a surface, just like English “on (to)”:

• monter sur la table = to climb onto the table
• s’asseoir sur la chaise = to sit on the chair
• monter sur la scène = to go onto the stage

The preposition à is used more for going to a place (no idea of “on top of”):

• aller à l’école = to go to school
• arriver à la gare = to arrive at the station

So à la scène would sound wrong in this context. You really need sur la scène for “onto the stage.”

Why is there la in la scène, when in English we often say “on stage” without “the”?

French uses articles (le, la, les) much more consistently than English.

• English: “They go on stage.” (no article)
• French: Elles montent sur la scène. (definite article la is required)

In French, a singular, countable noun almost always needs an article (or another determiner: ce, ma, une, etc.). You can’t normally just say sur scène with exactly the same grammar rules as English—though there is a special idiomatic case (see next question).

Can you also say Elles montent sur scène without la? Is there a difference?

Yes, both are possible:

• Elles montent sur la scène.
• Elles montent sur scène.

The nuance:

• sur la scène: more concrete/physical; literally onto that particular stage.
• sur scène (no article): often a bit more idiomatic, focusing on the fact of being on stage as performers, not so much on the physical object.

In practice, you will hear sur scène very often in performance contexts:

• Il adore être sur scène. = He loves being on stage (performing).
• Elles montent sur scène pour chanter. = They go on stage to sing.

Your sentence with or without la would almost always be understood the same way; the version without la feels a little more “theatrical” or idiomatic.

What exactly does monter mean here? Is it “to go up”, “to climb”, or “to go on”?

Monter’s basic idea is movement upward or to a higher position.
Depending on context, English will choose different verbs:

• monter l’escalier = to go up / climb the stairs
• monter en voiture = to get in the car
• monter dans le bus = to get on the bus
• monter sur la scène = to go up onto the stage / to go on stage

So here, monter sur la scène is best understood as “to go up onto the stage” or simply “to go on stage.”

Could I just say Elles montent la scène without sur?

No. Monter la scène without sur would be interpreted differently, like “to put up the stage” (as in assemble/build it), or it may just sound incorrect depending on context.

For the idea of going onto the stage, French needs the preposition sur:

• ✅ Elles montent sur la scène. = They go onto the stage.
• ❌ Elles montent la scène. (sounds like they’re setting up the stage, or just wrong if that’s not the meaning)

What does pendant mean here, and why do we say pendant le concert?

Pendant means during or for (a duration of time).

• pendant le concert = during the concert
• pendant deux heures = for two hours

We say pendant le concert because “concert” is a specific event, so we keep the definite article le:

• ✅ pendant le concert
• ❌ pendant concert (you can’t drop the article here)

So the full phrase means “They go onto the stage during the concert.”

Can I say pendant du concert or pendant un concert?

• pendant du concert is incorrect in this sense. Pendant is directly followed by the time phrase or event with its normal article:

  • ✅ pendant le concert
  • ✅ pendant la réunion
  • ✅ pendant les vacances

• pendant un concert is correct, but the meaning changes:

  • pendant le concert = during the concert (a particular concert already known)
  • pendant un concert = during a concert (some concert, not specified which)

So use le if you have a specific concert in mind; un if it’s just any concert.

Could pendant le concert go at the beginning or in the middle of the sentence?

Yes. French is fairly flexible with time expressions.

All of these are correct:

• Elles montent sur la scène pendant le concert.
• Pendant le concert, elles montent sur la scène.
• Elles, pendant le concert, montent sur la scène. (more marked / emphatic)

The most neutral are the first two; putting pendant le concert at the beginning is very natural in French, just like “During the concert, they go on stage” in English.

Why is scène feminine (la scène) and not masculine?

In French, the gender of nouns is mostly arbitrary, and you simply have to memorize it.

• la scène → feminine
  
  • une scène (a stage / a scene)
  • la scène (the stage / the scene)
  • des scènes (stages / scenes)

There’s no logical reason why it’s not le scène; it’s just historically feminine. When learning vocabulary, it’s best to memorize the noun with its article:

• learn la scène, not just scène

How would the sentence change if the group is not all female?

If the group includes at least one man (or is entirely male), use ils:

• Ils montent sur la scène pendant le concert.

Everything else stays the same: montent is still the present tense for third‑person plural (ils/elles montent).

How would you say “They went on stage during the concert” (past tense) in French?

Use the passé composé with être (because monter is one of the verbs that take être when used without a direct object):

• Elles sont montées sur la scène pendant le concert.

Breakdown:

• elles = they (feminine)
• sont = are (auxiliary être in present tense)
• montées = past participle of monter, agreeing in gender and number with elles
  
  • masculine plural: Ils sont montés
  • feminine plural: Elles sont montées (add -es)

For a mixed or all‑male group:

• Ils sont montés sur la scène pendant le concert.

Could we use durant or lors de instead of pendant? Are there differences?

Yes, you can, with slight nuances in style:

1. durant le concert

   • Very close in meaning to pendant.
   • Sometimes sounds a bit more formal or literary, but in everyday speech it’s also fine.
   • Example: Elles montent sur la scène durant le concert.

2. lors du concert

   • More formal / written, often used in journalism or announcements.
   • lors de
     • le concert → lors du concert
   • Focuses more on the event as a point in time than on the duration.
   • Example: Elles montent sur la scène lors du concert.

For normal, neutral speech, pendant le concert is the most common and straightforward choice.