Word
Avant le repas, je dis : « Bon appétit ! »
Meaning
Before the meal, I say, “Enjoy your meal.”
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Questions & Answers about Avant le repas, je dis : « Bon appétit ! »
Why does the sentence start with Avant le repas?
Avant means before.
So Avant le repas means before the meal.
French often puts a time expression at the beginning of the sentence, just like English can:
- Before the meal, I say...
- In the morning, I drink coffee.
- After class, we go home.
You could also say:
That is also correct, but the original sentence emphasizes when the action happens.
Why is it le repas and not un repas?
Le repas means the meal in a general or specific sense. In this sentence, it refers to the meal you are about to eat.
French often uses the definite article (le, la, les) in places where English might sound more natural with a general meaning:
- avant le repas = before the meal / before eating
If you said avant un repas, it would sound more like before a meal, any meal, one meal among others, which is less natural here.
What does repas mean exactly? Is it the same as dîner?