The French reading room
One sentence of «La Dernière Classe»
En passant devant la mairie, je vis qu’il y avait du monde arrêté près du petit grillage aux affiches.
As I passed the town hall, I saw that there were people stopped by the little wire-fronted noticeboard.
Where it stands
The sentences either side of it, each with its own page.
For two years all our bad news had come from there — the lost battles, the requisitions, the orders of the Kommandantur; and I thought without stopping:
Every word in it
| As printed | Dictionary form | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| En | en | in, into; while (+ -ing) (prep.); of it, of them, some (pron.); en train de — in the middle of; s’en aller — to go away |
| passant | passer | to pass, go by, cross (v.); en passant — in passing; se passer — to happen; passer à — to move on to; passer devant — to go past |
| devant | devant | in front, ahead (adv.); before (prep.); prendre les devants — to go on ahead; de devant lui — from his presence |
| la | le | the (le, la, l’, les); him, her, it, them — as an object (art./pron.) |
| mairie | mairie | town hall (n., f.) |
| je | je | I (pron.) |
| vis | voir | to see (v.); se voir — to see oneself; voyons — let’s see; voyez-vous — you see |
| qu | que | that, which, whom; than; how…! (conj./rel. pron.); ne… que — only |
| il | il | it (impersonal subject) (pron.) |
| y | y | there; in it, to it (pron./adv.); il y a — there is |
| avait | avoir | to have (v.); il y a — there is, there are; avoir beau + inf. — to do in vain; avoir peur — to be afraid |
| du | du | some; of the, from the (de + le) (art./contr.); du reste — besides |
| monde | monde | people, a crowd (n., m.) |
| arrêté | arrêter | to stop (v.); s’arrêter — to stop, halt |
| près | près | near, close (adv.); près de — near; de si près — so closely |
| du | du | of the, from the (de + le) (contr.) |
| petit | petit | small, little (adj.); la petite — the little one |
| grillage | grillage | wire netting, grille (n., m.) |
| aux | aux | to the, at the — à + les (contraction) |
| affiches | affiche | poster, public notice (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.