The French reading room
One sentence of «La Dernière Classe»
C’était aussi comme une façon de remercier notre maître de ses quarante ans de bons services, et de rendre leurs devoirs à la patrie qui s’en allait…
It was also a way of thanking our master for his forty years of good service, and of paying their respects to the country that was passing away…
Where it stands
The sentences either side of it, each with its own page.
It was in honour of this last class that he had put on his fine Sunday clothes, and now I understood why those old men of the village had come to sit at the back of the room.
Cela semblait dire qu’ils regrettaient de ne pas y être venus plus souvent, à cette école.
It seemed to say that they were sorry they had not come more often, to this school.
Every word in it
| As printed | Dictionary form | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| C | ce | this, that; these, those (dem. adj.); it, that (pron.) — c’est, it is; ce qui, ce que — what |
| était | être | to be (v.); c’est — it is; also forms the past of some verbs: elle est venue — she came |
| aussi | aussi | also, too; as (… as) (adv.); aussi… que — as… as |
| comme | comme | like, as; how…! (conj./adv.); comme si — as if |
| une | un | a, an; one (art./num.); l’un… l’autre — the one… the other; les unes… les autres — some… others |
| façon | façon | way, manner (n., f.) |
| de | de | of, from; some, any (prep./partitive art.) — du pain, de l’eau; pas de — no, not any; de… en… — from… to… |
| remercier | remercier | to thank (v.) |
| notre | notre | our (notre, nos) (poss. adj.) |
| maître | maître | master (n., m.); une maîtresse chèvre — a formidable goat; as adj. — chief, splendid: maîtresse barbe, magnificent whiskers |
| ses | son | his, her, its (det.) — son, sa, ses; also le son, sound: à son de trompe; also bran (n., m.) — du son, rabbit bait |
| quarante | quarante | forty (num.) |
| ans | an | year (n., m.); l’an dernier — last year; tous les ans — every year |
| bons | bon | good; kind (adj.); sentir bon — to smell sweet; de bon cœur — heartily |
| services | service | service (n., m.); pour votre service — at your service |
| et | et | and (conj.) |
| rendre | rendre | to give back; to make (+ adj.) (v.) — rendre la taille plus menue, to make the waist slimmer; rendre ses devoirs — to pay one’s respects |
| leurs | leur | their (det.); to them (pron.) |
| devoirs | devoir | duty, respects (n., m.) |
| à | à | to, at, in; with (prep.); c’est à… — it belongs to…; à boire — something to drink |
| la | le | the (le, la, l’, les); him, her, it, them — as an object (art./pron.) |
| patrie | patrie | homeland, native land (n., f.) |
| qui | qui | who, which, that (rel./interr. pron.); à qui — to whom, whose; qui… qui — one… another |
| s | se | himself, herself, itself, themselves; each other (reflexive pron.); s’ also stands for si — if — in s’il, s’ils |
| en | en | away, from there (s’en aller) (pron.) |
| allait | aller | to go (v.); s’en aller — to go away, leave; aller + inf. — to go and…, be going to…; y aller de bon cœur — to throw oneself into it |
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.