The French reading room
One sentence of «La Dernière Classe»
L’ordre est venu de Berlin de ne plus enseigner que l’allemand dans les écoles de l’Alsace et de la Lorraine…
The order has come from Berlin that nothing but German is to be taught in the schools of Alsace and Lorraine…
Where it stands
The sentences either side of it, each with its own page.
« Mes enfants, c’est la dernière fois que je vous fais la classe.
“My children, this is the last time I shall teach you.
Le nouveau maître arrive demain.
The new master arrives tomorrow.
Aujourd’hui, c’est votre dernière leçon de français.
Today is your last French lesson.
Every word in it
| As printed | Dictionary form | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| L | le | the (le, la, l’, les); him, her, it, them — as an object (art./pron.) |
| ordre | ordre | order, command (n., m.); avec ordre — in order |
| est | être | to be (v.); c’est — it is; also forms the past of some verbs: elle est venue — she came |
| venu | venir | to come (v.); venir de + inf. — to have just done; il vint à elle — there came up to her; venir à passer — to happen to pass |
| de | de | of, from; some, any (prep./partitive art.) — du pain, de l’eau; pas de — no, not any; de… en… — from… to… |
| Berlin | Berlin | Berlin, the capital of Prussia and of the new German Empire (place name) |
| ne | ne | not (neg. particle) — ne… pas, ne… point, ne… plus, ne… que (only); ne… rien — nothing; ne… guère — hardly |
| plus | plus | more; most (adv.) — ne… plus, no longer; le plus, the most; plus de — more than (plus de trois jours); with no verb, no more (plus de corde !); plus tôt — sooner |
| enseigner | enseigner | to teach (v.) |
| que | que | only (ne … que) (adv.) |
| allemand | allemand | German — the language (n., m.); German (adj.) |
| dans | dans | in, into (prep.) |
| écoles | école | school (n., f.) |
| Alsace | Alsace | Alsace, the French province annexed by Germany in 1871 (place name) |
| et | et | and (conj.) |
| Lorraine | Lorraine | Lorraine, the French province partly annexed by Germany in 1871 (place name) |
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.