Language through Literature

One sentence of «Le petit Chaperon rouge»


Sentence 6 of 34 · Le petit Chaperon rouge, Charles Perrault, 1697

En passant dans un bois, elle rencontra compère le Loup, qui eut bien envie de la manger ; mais il n’osa, à cause de quelques bûcherons qui étaient dans la forêt.

As she was passing through a wood, she met Brother Wolf, who very much wanted to eat her; but he did not dare, because of some woodcutters who were in the forest.

Where it stands

The sentences either side of it, each with its own page.

Le petit Chaperon rouge partit aussitôt pour aller chez sa mère-grand, qui demeurait dans un autre village.

Little Red Riding Hood set off at once to go to her grandmother, who lived in another village.

Il lui demanda où elle allait.

He asked her where she was going.

La pauvre enfant, qui ne savait pas qu’il était dangereux de s’arrêter à écouter un loup, lui dit : Je vais voir ma mère-grand, et lui porter une galette, avec un petit pot de beurre, que ma mère lui envoie.

The poor child, who did not know that it is dangerous to stop and listen to a wolf, said to him: “I am going to see my grandmother, and to take her a cake, with a little pot of butter, that my mother is sending her.”

Every word in it

As printedDictionary formMeaning
En enin, into; while (+ -ing) (prep.); of it, of them, some (pron.); en train de — in the middle of; s’en aller — to go away
passant passerto pass, go by, cross (v.); en passant — in passing; se passer — to happen; passer à — to move on to; passer devant — to go past
dans dansin, into (prep.)
un una, an; one (art./num.); l’un… l’autre — the one… the other; les unes… les autres — some… others
bois boiswood, forest (n., m.)
elle elleshe, her; it (pron.) — elles, they, them (f.)
rencontra rencontrerto meet (v.)
compère compèreold friend, crony (n., m., archaic); compère le Loup — Brother Wolf
le lethe (le, la, l’, les); him, her, it, them — as an object (art./pron.)
Loup loupwolf (n., m.)
qui quiwho, which, that (rel./interr. pron.); à qui — to whom, whose; qui… qui — one… another
eut avoirto have (v.); il y a — there is, there are; avoir beau + inf. — to do in vain; avoir peur — to be afraid
bien bienwell; very, quite; indeed (adv.) — bien aise, very glad; bien autre chose — something quite different; bien plus — far more
envie enviedesire, longing (n., f.); avoir envie de — to want to, long to
de deof, from; some, any (prep./partitive art.) — du pain, de l’eau; pas de — no, not any; de… en… — from… to…
manger mangerto eat (v.); mangé aux bords — worn, nibbled at the edges
mais maisbut (conj.)
il ilhe; it (il, ils — they) (pron.); il y a — there is; il faut — one must
n nenot (neg. particle) — ne… pas, ne… point, ne… plus, ne… que (only); ne… rien — nothing; ne… guère — hardly
osa oserto dare (v.)
à àto, at, in; with (prep.); c’est à… — it belongs to…; à boire — something to drink
cause causecause, reason (n., f.); à cause de — because of; à cause que — because (archaic); être cause de — to be the cause of
quelques quelquesome (det.); quelqu’un — someone; quelques — a few; quelque chose — something
bûcherons bûcheronwoodcutter (n., m.)
étaient êtreto be (v.); c’est — it is; also forms the past of some verbs: elle est venue — she came
forêt forêtforest (n., f.)

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Perrault and Daudet, all eight tales · Charles Perrault

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