Je pose ma brosse à dents sur le lavabo.

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Breakdown of Je pose ma brosse à dents sur le lavabo.

• sur: on
• ma: my
• poser: to put

Questions & Answers about Je pose ma brosse à dents sur le lavabo.

What does pose mean here? Is it the same as English pose?

Here, pose comes from the French verb poser, which often means to put down, to place, or to set something somewhere.

It is related to English pose historically, but in this sentence it does not mean striking a position for a photo. It simply means placing an object down:

• Je pose mon livre sur la table. = I put my book on the table.
• Je pose ma brosse à dents sur le lavabo. = I put my toothbrush on the sink.

Why use poser instead of mettre?

Both can work, but they are not exactly the same.

• mettre = a very general to put
• poser = to place / to set down, often onto a surface

So poser sounds a bit more specific here because the toothbrush is being placed on the sink.

Compare:

• Je mets ma brosse à dents sur le lavabo. = I put my toothbrush on the sink.
• Je pose ma brosse à dents sur le lavabo. = I set my toothbrush down on the sink.

Both are natural, but poser matches the idea of placing something onto a surface especially well.

Why is it ma brosse à dents and not mon brosse à dents?