The French reading room
One sentence of «La Dernière Classe»
Ah ! ç’a été le grand malheur de notre Alsace de toujours remettre son instruction à demain.
Ah! it has been the great misfortune of our Alsace always to put off its learning till tomorrow.
Where it stands
The sentences either side of it, each with its own page.
J’apprendrai demain.
I’ll learn it tomorrow.
Et puis tu vois ce qui arrive…
And then you see what happens…
Maintenant ces gens-là sont en droit de nous dire : Comment !
Now those people have the right to say to us: What!
Vous prétendiez être Français, et vous ne savez ni parler ni écrire votre langue !…
You claimed to be French, and you can neither speak nor write your own language!…
Every word in it
| As printed | Dictionary form | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Ah | ah | ah!, oh! (interj.) |
| ç | ce | this, that; these, those (dem. adj.); it, that (pron.) — c’est, it is; ce qui, ce que — what |
| a | avoir | to have (v.); il y a — there is, there are; avoir beau + inf. — to do in vain; avoir peur — to be afraid |
| été | être | to be (v.); c’est — it is; also forms the past of some verbs: elle est venue — she came |
| le | le | the (le, la, l’, les); him, her, it, them — as an object (art./pron.) |
| grand | grand | big, tall, great (adj.); grand’mère — grandmother; grand seigneur — great lord; grand ouvert — wide open |
| malheur | malheur | misfortune (n., m.); par malheur — unfortunately |
| de | de | of, from; some, any (prep./partitive art.) — du pain, de l’eau; pas de — no, not any; de… en… — from… to… |
| notre | notre | our (notre, nos) (poss. adj.) |
| Alsace | Alsace | Alsace, the French province annexed by Germany in 1871 (place name) |
| toujours | toujours | always; still (adv.) |
| remettre | remettre | to put off, postpone (v.) |
| son | son | his, her, its (det.) — son, sa, ses; also le son, sound: à son de trompe; also bran (n., m.) — du son, rabbit bait |
| instruction | instruction | education, schooling, learning (n., f.) |
| à | à | to, at, in; with (prep.); c’est à… — it belongs to…; à boire — something to drink |
| demain | demain | tomorrow (adv.) |
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.