The French reading room
One sentence of «La Dernière Classe»
Par la fenêtre ouverte, je voyais mes camarades déjà rangés à leurs places, et M. Hamel, qui passait et repassait avec la terrible règle en fer sous le bras.
Through the open window I could see my classmates already in their places, and Monsieur Hamel walking up and down with the terrible iron ruler under his arm.
Where it stands
The sentences either side of it, each with its own page.
I was counting on all that commotion to reach my bench without being seen; but that day, as it happened, everything was still, like a Sunday morning.
Il fallut ouvrir la porte et entrer au milieu de ce grand calme.
I had to open the door and go in, in the midst of that great calm.
Vous pensez, si j’étais rouge et si j’avais peur !
You can imagine how red I was, and how frightened!
Every word in it
| As printed | Dictionary form | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Par | par | by, through, along (prep.); par delà — beyond; par exemple — for example; rang par rang — row by row |
| la | le | the (le, la, l’, les); him, her, it, them — as an object (art./pron.) |
| fenêtre | fenêtre | window (n., f.) |
| ouverte | ouvert | open (adj.) |
| je | je | I (pron.) |
| voyais | voir | to see (v.); se voir — to see oneself; voyons — let’s see; voyez-vous — you see |
| mes | mon | my (mon, ma, mes) (poss. adj.) |
| camarades | camarade | classmate, comrade (n., m./f.) |
| déjà | déjà | already (adv.) |
| rangés | ranger | to arrange, put in order (v.); rangé — lined up |
| à | à | to, at, in; with (prep.); c’est à… — it belongs to…; à boire — something to drink |
| leurs | leur | their (det.); to them (pron.) |
| places | place | place, seat; square (n., f.) |
| et | et | and (conj.) |
| M | monsieur | Mr, Monsieur; sir, gentleman (n., m.; pl. messieurs); M. — short for Monsieur; monsieur le marquis — my lord Marquis |
| Hamel | Hamel | Monsieur Hamel, the village schoolmaster (proper name) |
| qui | qui | who, which, that (rel./interr. pron.); à qui — to whom, whose; qui… qui — one… another |
| passait | passer | to pass, go by, cross (v.); en passant — in passing; se passer — to happen; passer à — to move on to; passer devant — to go past |
| repassait | repasser | to pass again, walk back (v.) |
| avec | avec | with (prep.) |
| terrible | terrible | terrible, fearsome (adj.) |
| règle | règle | ruler; rule (n., f.) |
| en | en | in, into; while (+ -ing) (prep.); of it, of them, some (pron.); en train de — in the middle of; s’en aller — to go away |
| fer | fer | iron (n., m.) |
| sous | sous | under (prep.); also pl. of sou — a small coin: quelques sous, a few pennies |
| bras | bras | arm (n., m.) |
Read «La Dernière Classe» in the room Every word glossed where it stands, the English a tap away. The whole tale is free and asks for no account.