The French reading room
One sentence of «La Dernière Classe»
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.
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.
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.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Il | il | it (impersonal pron.) |
| fallut | falloir | to be necessary (v., impers.); il faut — one must; il fallut — it was necessary; il fallait — one had to; il leur faut — they need |
| ouvrir | ouvrir | to open (v.) |
| la | le | the (le, la, l’, les); him, her, it, them — as an object (art./pron.) |
| porte | porte | door, gate (n., f.); also a form of porter — comment se porte… ? how is… ? |
| et | et | and (conj.) |
| entrer | entrer | to enter, go in, come in (v.); faire entrer — to get (something) in |
| au | au | to the, at the, in the (à + le) (contr.); au secours ! — help! |
| milieu | milieu | middle (n., m.); au milieu de — in the midst of; le milieu du jour — midday |
| de | de | of, from; some, any (prep./partitive art.) — du pain, de l’eau; pas de — no, not any; de… en… — from… to… |
| ce | ce | this, that; these, those (dem. adj.); it, that (pron.) — c’est, it is; ce qui, ce que — what |
| grand | grand | big, tall, great (adj.); grand’mère — grandmother; grand seigneur — great lord; grand ouvert — wide open |
| calme | calme | calm, stillness (n., m.); calm (adj.) |
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.