Learn Hardcore French: De retour en ville, Marie achète un bracelet connecté pour suivre son sommeil. - Back in the city, Marie buys a smart bracelet to track her sleep.

de
- a noun (retour) is a very common way in French to say “being …” / “when … is … again”.
retour is a noun meaning return.
So De retour en ville = (Being) back in town / Once (she is) back in town.

It’s an elliptical structure: the subject and verb are understood:

Full idea: Quand Marie est de retour en ville, …
Shortened: De retour en ville, Marie …

French often uses this pattern:

De retour à la maison, il se douche. = Back home, he takes a shower.
Devenu célèbre, il voyage beaucoup. = Having become famous, he travels a lot.

Why is it de retour en ville and not à retour en ville?

Because French uses the fixed expression être de retour (to be back), not être à retour.

Examples:

Je suis de retour. = I’m back.
Ils seront de retour demain. = They’ll be back tomorrow.

So when you shorten Quand Marie est de retour en ville, you keep de retour, not à retour:

✅ De retour en ville, Marie achète…
❌ À retour en ville, Marie achète… (incorrect)

Why is it en ville and not à la ville?

En ville is an idiomatic expression meaning:

in town / in the city (as opposed to the countryside or suburbs)
often with no specific town in mind.

À la ville can exist, but it’s much less common and usually contrasts with something like à la campagne in a more abstract, sociological way (city life vs country life), or it’s tied to a specific city in some contexts.

In this sentence, Marie is simply back in town, so en ville is the natural, everyday choice:

Je vais en ville. = I’m going into town.
J’habite en ville. = I live in town / in the city.

Is De retour en ville, Marie… the only possible word order? Could we move that part?

You can move it:

Marie, de retour en ville, achète un bracelet connecté…
Marie achète, de retour en ville, un bracelet connecté… (possible but heavier)

However, the original:

De retour en ville, Marie achète…

is very natural and stylistically clean. Putting De retour en ville at the beginning:

sets the context first (where/when)
then introduces the action.

Why is achète in the present tense and not a past tense like a acheté?

In isolation, both are possible:

Marie achète un bracelet connecté…
- Present tense
- Can be:
  - a general present (she is buying one now),
  - or a historic/narrative present, used to make a story feel more vivid:
    De retour en ville, Marie achète… puis elle rentre chez elle…
Marie a acheté un bracelet connecté…
- Passé composé (past event)
- Neutral description of a completed action in the past.

So:

For everyday conversation about a past event: Marie a acheté…
For storytelling or describing a scene “as if it were happening now”: Marie achète… is very common and stylistically strong.

How do you pronounce achète and why does it have that accent?

Pronunciation: roughly [a-ʃɛt]:

a like a in father
ch like sh in she
è like e in bed
final t is silent

Spelling:

The verb is acheter (to buy).
In je/tu/il/elle/on/ils/elles in the present, the vowel changes:
- j’achète, tu achètes, il/elle achète, ils/elles achètent
- but nous achetons, vous achetez (no accent, original vowel)

The accent grave (è) marks that the vowel is open [ɛ] and also reflects this regular stem change pattern.

What exactly is a bracelet connecté? Is it just any bracelet?

A bracelet connecté is a connected bracelet, i.e. a smart bracelet / fitness tracker that connects to your phone or the internet.

It’s not just a decorative bracelet:

it usually tracks steps, heart rate, sleep, etc.
it syncs data to a smartphone app.

So in context, it’s like saying:

Marie buys a smart bracelet to track her sleep.

Why is it un bracelet connecté and not une bracelet connectée?

Because bracelet is masculine in French:

un bracelet (a bracelet)
le bracelet (the bracelet)
mon bracelet (my bracelet)

Adjectives must agree in gender and number with the noun:

un bracelet connecté
(masculine singular noun + masculine singular adjective)

If the noun was feminine, both would be feminine:

une montre connectée = a smart watch
(montre is feminine, so une and connectée get -e)

Why is the adjective connecté placed after bracelet and not before?

In French, most adjectives normally come after the noun:

un bracelet connecté
une voiture rouge (a red car)
un téléphone portable (a mobile phone)

Some short/common adjectives often come before the noun (e.g. beau, grand, petit, bon, mauvais, jeune, vieux), but connecté is not one of them, so it follows the usual rule: adjective after noun.

What does pour suivre son sommeil literally mean?

Literally:

pour = for / in order to
suivre = to follow
son sommeil = his/her sleep

So pour suivre son sommeil = to follow her sleep
In natural English: to track/monitor her sleep.

The structure pour + infinitive expresses purpose:

pour suivre = in order to track

Why is it suivre (“to follow”) for sleep? Would surveiller or contrôler work?

Yes, suivre, surveiller, and contrôler are all used in health/tech contexts, but with slightly different flavors:

suivre son sommeil
- very common for data/metrics
- like to track / monitor over time
- neutral, often used for apps and devices
surveiller son sommeil
- more like to watch over / keep an eye on
- slightly more active/attentive nuance
contrôler son sommeil
- to control / regulate your sleep
- can sound like trying to manage or keep it under control, not just observe it

For a fitness tracker or smart bracelet, suivre son sommeil is the most natural and frequent expression.

Why is it son sommeil even though Marie is a woman? Shouldn’t it be sa sommeil?

In French, possessive adjectives (mon/ma/mes, ton/ta/tes, son/sa/ses) agree with the gender and number of the noun possessed, not with the owner.

sommeil (sleep) is masculine singular.
So you must use son (masculine singular possessive):
- son sommeil = her sleep / his sleep

If the noun were feminine:

sa montre = her watch / his watch (montre is feminine)
sa voiture = her car / his car

So:

✅ son sommeil (correct: masculine noun)
❌ sa sommeil (wrong: sommeil is not feminine)

Why is there no preposition between pour and suivre (why not pour à suivre)?

With pour expressing purpose, French uses directly: pour + infinitive, with no extra preposition:

pour suivre son sommeil = to track her sleep
pour apprendre le français = to learn French
pour comprendre, il faut pratiquer = to understand, you must practise

So:

✅ pour suivre
❌ pour à suivre (incorrect)