The French reading room
One sentence of «La Dernière Classe»
Tout cela me tentait bien plus que la règle des participes ; mais j’eus la force de résister, et je courus bien vite vers l’école.
All that tempted me far more than the rule for participles; but I had the strength to resist, and I ran as fast as I could to school.
Where it stands
The sentences either side of it, each with its own page.
You could hear the blackbirds whistling at the edge of the wood, and in the Rippert meadow, behind the sawmill, the Prussians at their drill.
Every word in it
| As printed | Dictionary form | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Tout | tout | all, every; quite, very (adj./adv.); tout à coup — suddenly; tout de suite — at once; tout à fait — entirely; tout à l’heure — right away |
| cela | cela | that, this (pron.) |
| me | me | me, to me, myself (pron.) |
| tentait | tenter | to tempt (v.) |
| bien | bien | well; very, quite; indeed (adv.) — bien aise, very glad; bien autre chose — something quite different; bien plus — far more |
| 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 |
| que | que | than, as (in a comparison) (conj.) |
| la | le | the (le, la, l’, les); him, her, it, them — as an object (art./pron.) |
| règle | règle | rule (n., f.) |
| des | des | of the, from the (de + les) (contr.) |
| participes | participe | participle (n., m.) |
| mais | mais | but (conj.) |
| j | je | I (pron.) |
| eus | avoir | to have (v.); il y a — there is, there are; avoir beau + inf. — to do in vain; avoir peur — to be afraid |
| force | force | strength, might (n., f.); de toute sa force — with all his might; de toutes ses forces — with all one’s might |
| de | de | of, from; some, any (prep./partitive art.) — du pain, de l’eau; pas de — no, not any; de… en… — from… to… |
| résister | résister | to resist (v.) |
| et | et | and (conj.) |
| courus | courir | to run (v.); courir après — to chase; courir les nids — to go nesting, hunt for nests; en courant — at a run |
| vite | vite | quickly (adv.) |
| vers | vers | towards (prep.); also le vers — a line of verse (n., m.) |
| école | école | school (n., f.) |
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.