The French reading room
One sentence of «La Dernière Classe»
Et quand je voulais aller pêcher des truites, est-ce que je me gênais pour vous donner congé ?… »
And when I wanted to go trout fishing, did I think twice about giving you the day off?…”
Where it stands
The sentences either side of it, each with its own page.
Moi-même, n’ai-je rien à me reprocher ?
And I myself — have I nothing to reproach myself with?
Est-ce que je ne vous ai pas souvent fait arroser mon jardin au lieu de travailler ?
Haven’t I often had you water my garden instead of doing your work?
Every word in it
| As printed | Dictionary form | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Et | et | and (conj.) |
| quand | quand | when (conj.) |
| je | je | I (pron.) |
| voulais | vouloir | to want (v.); que voulez-vous? — what would you have?; en vouloir — to be willing to have (someone) |
| aller | 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 |
| pêcher | pêcher | to fish, fish for (v.) |
| des | des | some, any; of the, from the (de + les) (art./contr.) |
| truites | truite | trout (n., f.) |
| est-ce | être | to be (v.); c’est — it is; also forms the past of some verbs: elle est venue — she came |
| que | que | that, which, whom; than; how…! (conj./rel. pron.); ne… que — only |
| me | me | me, to me, myself (pron.) |
| gênais | gêner | to bother (v.); se gêner — to hold back, think twice |
| pour | pour | for; in order to (prep.); pour moi — as for me; pour sa sœur — as for her sister |
| vous | vous | you (pron.) |
| donner | donner | to give (v.) — donner un bal, to give a ball; donner des coups de corne — to butt |
| congé | congé | holiday, time off (n., m.); donner congé — to give a day off |
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.