Si vous venez en février ou en décembre, apportez un manteau chaud; mais si vous venez en juin ou en juillet, prenez plutôt des vêtements légers.

Si means if. In this sentence, it introduces a real or likely condition:

Si vous venez en février... apportez un manteau chaud.

This pattern is very common in French:

si + present tense, then a command, future, or statement.

Here, the result is a command, so the structure is:

Si + present, imperative

Examples:

• Si tu as faim, mange.
• Si vous êtes fatigué, reposez-vous.

So this sentence means: If you come in February or December, bring a warm coat...

After si meaning if, French normally does not use the future tense when English often does.

So French says:

• Si vous venez... = If you come...

Not:

• Si vous viendrez...

This is a very important rule:

• English: If you come tomorrow, ...
• French: Si vous venez demain, ...

Even when the meaning refers to the future, French still uses the present tense after si in this kind of sentence.

Because they are all forms used with vous.

• vous venez = you come / you are coming
• apportez ! = bring!
• prenez ! = take!

For regular vous forms in the present tense and the imperative, -ez is very common.

Here:

• venez is the present tense
• apportez and prenez are imperatives (commands)

With vous, the imperative often looks exactly like the present-tense form without the subject pronoun:

• vous apportez → apportez !
• vous prenez → prenez !

Yes, tu could be used if you are speaking to one person informally.

This sentence uses vous, which can mean:

1. you plural, or
2. you singular in a formal/polite way.

So this version sounds appropriate for:

• speaking to several people
• giving general advice
• speaking politely

An informal singular version would be:

Si tu viens en février ou en décembre, apporte un manteau chaud; mais si tu viens en juin ou en juillet, prends plutôt des vêtements légers.

Notice the verb forms change:

• vous venez → tu viens
• apportez → apporte
• prenez → prends

In French, en is used with months to mean in:

• en février = in February
• en décembre = in December
• en juin = in June
• en juillet = in July

This is the normal preposition for months.

You also use en with years in many cases:

• en 2026

So en here is completely standard.

In French, names of months are normally not capitalized unless they begin a sentence.

So French writes:

• février
• décembre
• juin
• juillet

This is different from English, where February, December, June, and July are capitalized.

The same is true for days of the week:

• lundi
• mardi

French usually does not use an article before a month when simply saying in June, in December, etc.

So:

• en juin
• en décembre

Not normally:

• en le juin

You may see an article in other structures, but not in this basic time expression.

For example:

• Je pars en juillet. = I’m leaving in July.

This is a useful vocabulary point.

Apporter usually means to bring something to a place.

• apportez un manteau chaud = bring a warm coat

Prendre usually means to take.

• prenez des vêtements légers = take some light clothes

In English, bring and take sometimes overlap depending on perspective, and French works similarly. In this sentence, the speaker chooses:

• apporter for a warm coat
• prendre for light clothes

Both are natural here. The main idea is what you should have with you.

Here plutôt means something like:

• rather
• instead
• preferably

So:

prenez plutôt des vêtements légers

means:

take light clothes instead or better to take light clothes

It softens or adjusts the advice. It suggests that, for June or July, light clothes are the more suitable choice.

French often repeats structures clearly instead of trying to compress everything.

So the sentence says:

• Si vous venez en février ou en décembre...
• mais si vous venez en juin ou en juillet...

This repetition makes the contrast very clear:

• winter months → warm coat
• summer months → light clothes

You could imagine shorter wording in English, but in French this repetition sounds natural and clear.

Because the sentence is talking about:

• one warm coat
• some light clothes

Un manteau chaud is singular:

• un = a
• manteau = singular noun
• chaud = singular adjective

Des vêtements légers is plural:

• des = some
• vêtements = plural noun
• légers = plural adjective

French adjectives agree with the noun they describe, so:

• chaud matches singular manteau
• légers matches plural vêtements

Because French adjectives must agree with the noun in number and sometimes gender.

• manteau is masculine singular, so the adjective is chaud
• vêtements is masculine plural, so the adjective is légers

Basic pattern:

• masculine singular: chaud, léger
• masculine plural: chauds, légers

If the nouns were feminine, the forms would change again:

• chaude
• légère
• chaudes
• légères

Because apportez is the imperative form, used for giving instructions or advice.

• apporter = infinitive, to bring
• apportez ! = imperative, bring!

The same applies to:

• prendre = to take
• prenez ! = take!

So the sentence is directly advising the listener:

• apportez un manteau chaud
• prenez plutôt des vêtements légers

Yes. The semicolon separates two closely related parts of the sentence:

• one condition about février / décembre
• another contrasting condition about juin / juillet

The word mais already shows contrast, and the semicolon helps organize a longer sentence neatly.

In everyday writing, many people might also use a comma or split this into two sentences, but the semicolon is perfectly acceptable and clear here.

Not in the same way.

Porter usually means:

• to wear
• to carry

So:

• portez un manteau chaud would usually mean wear a warm coat

But apportez un manteau chaud means bring a warm coat, and prenez des vêtements légers means take some light clothes.

So porter changes the meaning. It is not the same verb choice.

It sounds more like practical advice than a harsh order.

French uses the imperative for many things:

• commands
• instructions
• recommendations
• recipes
• travel advice

So here:

• apportez un manteau chaud
• prenez plutôt des vêtements légers

means something like:

• be sure to bring a warm coat
• it’s better to take light clothes

The tone depends on context, but in this sentence it sounds like helpful advice.