The French reading room
One sentence of «La Dernière Classe»
Alors il se tourna vers le tableau, prit un morceau de craie et, en appuyant de toutes ses forces, il écrivit aussi gros qu’il put :
Then he turned to the blackboard, took a piece of chalk and, pressing with all his might, wrote as large as he could:
Every word in it
| As printed | Dictionary form | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Alors | alors | then, so (adv.) |
| il | il | he; it (il, ils — they) (pron.); il y a — there is; il faut — one must |
| se | se | himself, herself, itself, themselves; each other (reflexive pron.); s’ also stands for si — if — in s’il, s’ils |
| tourna | tourner | to turn (v.); se tourner vers — to turn towards |
| vers | vers | towards (prep.); also le vers — a line of verse (n., m.) |
| le | le | the (le, la, l’, les); him, her, it, them — as an object (art./pron.) |
| tableau | tableau | blackboard; picture (n., m.) |
| prit | prendre | to take; to catch (v.); prendre les devants — to go on ahead; prendre un homme — to take a man as husband; s’y prendre — to go about it |
| un | un | a, an; one (art./num.); l’un… l’autre — the one… the other; les unes… les autres — some… others |
| morceau | morceau | piece, bit (n., m.) |
| de | de | of, from; some, any (prep./partitive art.) — du pain, de l’eau; pas de — no, not any; de… en… — from… to… |
| craie | craie | chalk (n., f.) |
| et | et | and (conj.) |
| 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 |
| appuyant | appuyer | to press, lean (v.); appuyé à — leaning against |
| toutes | tout | all, every; quite, very (adj./adv.); tout à coup — suddenly; tout de suite — at once; tout à fait — entirely; tout à l’heure — right away |
| 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 |
| forces | force | strength, might (n., f.); de toute sa force — with all his might; de toutes ses forces — with all one’s might |
| écrivit | écrire | to write (v.) |
| aussi | aussi | as, so (aussi … que) (adv.) |
| gros | gros | big, large, thick (adj.); gros — large (adv.); le cœur gros — heavy-hearted |
| qu | que | as, than (in comparisons) (conj.) |
| put | pouvoir | can, to be able (v.); le pouvoir — power (n., m.); je ne puis — I cannot (literary) |
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.