The French reading room
One sentence of «La Dernière Classe»
M. Hamel se leva tout pâle, dans sa chaire.
Monsieur Hamel stood up at his desk, quite pale.
Where it stands
The sentences either side of it, each with its own page.
Tout à coup l’horloge de l’église sonna midi, puis l’Angelus.
All at once the church clock struck noon, then the Angelus.
At the same moment the trumpets of the Prussians coming back from drill burst out under our windows…
Jamais il ne m’avait paru si grand.
Never had he seemed so tall to me.
Every word in it
| As printed | Dictionary form | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| M | monsieur | Mr, Monsieur; sir, gentleman (n., m.; pl. messieurs); M. — short for Monsieur; monsieur le marquis — my lord Marquis |
| Hamel | Hamel | Monsieur Hamel, the village schoolmaster (proper name) |
| se | se | himself, herself, itself, themselves; each other (reflexive pron.); s’ also stands for si — if — in s’il, s’ils |
| leva | lever | to raise, lift (v.); se lever — to get up, rise |
| tout | tout | quite, very (adv.) |
| pâle | pâle | pale (adj.) |
| dans | dans | in, into (prep.) |
| sa | son | his, her, its (det.) — son, sa, ses; also le son, sound: à son de trompe; also bran (n., m.) — du son, rabbit bait |
| chaire | chaire | the master’s raised desk, rostrum; pulpit (n., f.); monter en chaire — to go up into the pulpit |
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.