Les baskets sont plus confortables que les sandales quand l’allée du jardin est mouillée.

In French, nouns usually need an article. Les baskets means the sneakers/trainers, but in many contexts French uses the definite article where English might use a more general noun phrase like sneakers.

Here, Les baskets can be understood as sneakers/trainers in a general sense.

• les = the
• baskets = sneakers / trainers

French often uses the definite article for general statements:

• Les chats aiment dormir. = Cats like sleeping.
• Les baskets sont plus confortables... = Sneakers are more comfortable...

In French, des baskets commonly means sneakers or trainers. It is a very common everyday word.

The singular is une basket, but in real life people usually talk about them in the plural:

• Je porte des baskets. = I’m wearing sneakers.

Depending on the region, you may also hear:

• des tennis
• des chaussures de sport

But baskets is very standard and natural.

This is the standard French pattern for comparisons:

plus + adjective + que = more + adjective + than

So:

• plus confortables = more comfortable
• que les sandales = than sandals

The full comparison is:

• Les baskets sont plus confortables que les sandales.
• Sneakers are more comfortable than sandals.

Other comparison patterns:

• moins ... que = less ... than
• aussi ... que = as ... as

Examples:

• Cette chaise est plus solide que l’autre.
• Ce sac est moins cher que celui-là.
• Cette robe est aussi jolie que l’autre.

Because the adjective has to agree with Les baskets, which is plural.

Here:

• baskets is plural
• so confortable becomes confortables

French adjectives agree in number and often in gender with the noun they describe.

Forms:

• masculine singular: confortable
• feminine singular: confortable
• masculine plural: confortables
• feminine plural: confortables

In this case, the written form is the same for masculine plural and feminine plural.

After a comparison with plus, French uses que for than.

So:

• plus confortables que les sandales = more comfortable than sandals

This is just the normal comparison structure:

• plus ... que
• moins ... que
• aussi ... que

Examples:

• Il est plus grand que moi.
• Cette table est moins chère que l’autre.
• Elle est aussi rapide que son frère.

So que here does not mean that; it means than.

Here quand means when, but in a sentence like this it can also feel like whenever in English.

• quand l’allée du jardin est mouillée = when the garden path is wet
• Depending on context, English might naturally say when or whenever

So the idea is: Sneakers are more comfortable than sandals when the garden path is wet.

This is a normal use of quand to introduce a time or condition-like situation.

Because of elision.

When la comes before a word beginning with a vowel sound, French usually drops the vowel and uses an apostrophe:

• la allée becomes l’allée

This also happens with:

• le arbre → l’arbre
• je aime → j’aime
• ne est → n’est

So l’allée is simply the correct contracted form of la allée.

Une allée is a path, walkway, or passageway, often in a garden, park, or driveway-like space.

So:

• l’allée = the path / walkway
• du jardin = of the garden or more naturally in the garden

Together, l’allée du jardin means:

• the garden path
• the path in the garden

It sounds very natural in French.

Du is the contraction of de + le.

So:

• de le jardin becomes du jardin

French requires this contraction.

Examples:

• le toit du garage = the roof of the garage
• la porte du salon = the living-room door
• l’allée du jardin = the garden path

This is one of the most common contractions in French:

• de + le = du
• de + les = des
• à + le = au
• à + les = aux

Because mouillée agrees with l’allée, which is feminine singular.

Here:

• allée is a feminine noun
• so the adjective must also be feminine singular
• mouillé becomes mouillée

Forms:

• masculine singular: mouillé
• feminine singular: mouillée
• masculine plural: mouillés
• feminine plural: mouillées

So:

• le sol est mouillé
• la route est mouillée
• les chemins sont mouillés
• les rues sont mouillées

Not exactly.

• mouillé(e) usually means wet
• humide usually means damp or humid

So in this sentence, mouillée is a good choice because a path after rain is wet, not just slightly damp.

Compare:

• L’allée est mouillée après la pluie. = The path is wet after the rain.
• La cave est humide. = The basement is damp.

Because the subject of est mouillée is l’allée du jardin, and the main noun there is allée, which is singular.

Even though du jardin adds extra information, it does not change the number of the subject.

So:

• l’allée ... est mouillée = singular
• les allées ... sont mouillées = plural

Compare:

• La porte de la maison est ouverte.
• Les portes de la maison sont ouvertes.

Yes, it is very normal.

The structure is:

Les baskets
sont
plus confortables que les sandales
quand l’allée du jardin est mouillée

So the pattern is basically: subject + verb + comparison + time clause

This is a very common and natural order in French.

You could also move the quand clause to the front for emphasis:

• Quand l’allée du jardin est mouillée, les baskets sont plus confortables que les sandales.

That version is also correct.