Learn Hardcore French: Elle emporte toujours son appareil photo lorsqu'elle se promène au bord de la mer. - She always takes her camera when she walks by the sea.

porter = to carry (on your person), to wear.
- Elle porte un sac. – She is carrying/wearing a bag.
emporter = to take something with you (to another place), to take away.
- Elle emporte son appareil photo. – She takes her camera (with her).
prendre = to take, to pick up.
- Elle prend son appareil photo. – She takes/picks up her camera. (focus on the act of taking)

In this sentence, emporter is used because she is taking the camera with her when she goes for a walk. It emphasizes “taking along” rather than just “holding” or “picking up.”

What is the difference between emporter, apporter, emmener, and amener?

These four verbs are often confusing:

emporter – to take something away with you (inanimate thing).
- J’emporte un parapluie. – I’m taking an umbrella (with me).
apporter – to bring something toward someone or someplace.
- J’apporte un gâteau. – I’m bringing a cake (to you / to the party).
emmener – to take a person or animal away with you.
- J’emmène mon frère. – I’m taking my brother (with me).
amener – to bring a person or animal to someone or someplace.
- J’amène mon frère. – I’m bringing my brother (to you / to the party).

In this sentence, we deal with a thing (the camera) that she takes with her, so emporter is correct: Elle emporte son appareil photo…

Why is it son appareil photo and not sa appareil photo, since photo is feminine?

The key word is the head noun of the phrase, which is appareil, not photo.

un appareil (a device) – masculine
une photo (a photo) – feminine

The compound noun un appareil photo is masculine because appareil is masculine. Possessive adjectives agree with the noun’s gender and number, not with the possessor and not with the following word:

son appareil photo – her/his camera (masculine singular noun)
sa photo – her/his photo (feminine singular noun)
ses photos – her/his photos (plural, any gender)

Does son appareil photo mean “her camera” or “his camera”?

It can mean either “her camera” or “his camera.”

In French, son / sa / ses agree with the gender and number of the thing possessed, not with the owner:

son appareil photo – his camera or her camera (because appareil is masculine)
sa voiture – his car or her car (because voiture is feminine)

Here, the context (Elle) lets us understand it as her camera, but grammatically it could also be “his camera.”

What is the difference between appareil photo and caméra?

un appareil photo = a (still) camera for taking photographs.
une caméra = a video camera, used mainly for filming.

If you want to talk about a normal camera used for photography, you say un appareil photo, not une caméra.

This sentence clearly talks about a photo camera, not a video camera, so son appareil photo is correct.

Why is it lorsqu’elle and not just quand elle?

lorsque and quand are very close in meaning (“when”):

lorsque is a bit more formal or written.
quand is more everyday and very common in speech.

In most contexts, you can replace lorsque with quand without changing the meaning:

Elle emporte toujours son appareil photo quand elle se promène au bord de la mer.

The author chose lorsque probably for a slightly more formal or literary tone.

Why is there an apostrophe in lorsqu’elle?

The apostrophe shows elision: the dropping of the vowel e before another vowel sound.

lorsque + elle → lorsqu’elle

French often removes a final e to avoid a clash of vowels, especially in writing with que:

puisque + elle → puisqu’elle
jusque + ici → jusqu’ici

Pronunciation is smoother: lorskèl, not lors-ke elle.

Why is it se promène and not just promène?

Se promener is a pronominal verb that means “to go for a walk, to stroll, to take a walk.”

Elle se promène. – She is going for a walk / She is taking a stroll.

Without the reflexive pronoun, promener means “to walk (something/someone)”:

Elle promène le chien. – She walks the dog.

So:

Elle se promène. – She walks (herself) / She goes for a walk.
Elle promène son chien. – She walks her dog.

In your sentence, she is walking herself, so it must be se promène.

Why is toujours placed after emporte and not at the beginning of the sentence?

The most neutral position for toujours (always) is generally after the conjugated verb:

Elle emporte toujours son appareil photo.

You could say:

Elle toujours emporte son appareil photo. – incorrect in standard French.
Toujours, elle emporte son appareil photo. – possible, but sounds stylistic or emphatic.

So in normal, neutral French, verb + toujours is the usual pattern.

What exactly does au bord de la mer mean?

au bord de la mer literally means “at the edge of the sea.” Idiomatically, it’s:

by the sea
on the seashore
by the seaside

Breaking it down:

à
- le → au = at the / to the
le bord = the edge / the bank / the shore
de la mer = of the sea

So au bord de la mer = at the edge of the sea → “by the sea.”

Why is it au bord de la mer and not à la mer or sur la mer?

These expressions are not interchangeable:

au bord de la mer – by the sea, on the shore (on land, near the water).
- Walking on a path near the seashore.
à la mer – to the sea / at the sea (more general, often about going there).
- Je vais à la mer. – I’m going to the seaside.
sur la mer – on the sea (physically on top of it, usually by boat or ship).
- Le bateau est sur la mer. – The boat is on the sea.

Because she is walking along the shore, au bord de la mer is the precise expression.

What is the gender of mer and how do we know which article to use in de la mer?

mer is feminine: la mer (the sea).

With the preposition de:

Before a feminine noun starting with a consonant (like mer), de + la stays de la:
- de la mer
Before a masculine noun: de + le → du:
- du jardin (of the garden)
Before nouns starting with a vowel sound: de + l’:
- de l’eau (of the water)

So we use de la mer because mer is feminine and starts with a consonant sound.

How would this sentence change if the subject were we instead of she?

For nous (we), you must change the verb forms and the possessive:

Nous emportons toujours notre appareil photo lorsque nous nous promenons au bord de la mer.

Changes:

Elle emporte → Nous emportons (present tense, 1st person plural).
son appareil photo → notre appareil photo (our camera).
elle se promène → nous nous promenons (we go for a walk; note the double nous).
lorsqu’elle → lorsque nous.