un garçon et une fille
The English phrase "a boy and a girl" is translated into French as un garçon et une fille.
This phrase is used to describe a pair consisting of one male child and one female child.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of un (a/one, masculine), garçon (boy), et (and), une (a/one, feminine) and fille (girl).
How does it change in a sentence?
Because the phrase contains one masculine noun (garçon) and one feminine noun (fille), any adjective describing the pair must be in the masculine plural form, such as un garçon et une fille sont contents.
Did you know?
- In certain contexts, the word fille can be a slang term for a prostitute. This evolved through the shortening of euphemisms like fille de joie, meaning 'girl of joy'.
- The word garçon is a linguistic relative of the English word 'wretch'. Both words descend from a Germanic root referring to an 'exile' or 'outcast'.
- The word garçon originally described a 'servant' or 'mercenary' in Early Medieval Latin before it became the common word for 'boy'.
Examples in context
- J'ai deux enfants : un garçon et une fille.I have two children: a boy and a girl.Tatoeba #5648046 by Scorpionvenin14, translation #5648009 by Schierbeck
- Un garçon et une fille sont assis sur la clôture.A boy and a girl are sitting on the fence.Tatoeba #1177855 by alexmarcelo, translation #1177856 by CM
- Un garçon et une fille sont assis à la table.A boy and a girl are sitting at the table.
- Mon petit gars et ma petite fille jouent dans le jardin.My little boy and my little girl are playing in the garden.
- Dans le dessin, il y a un garçon et une fille.In the drawing, there is a boy and a girl.
Example conversation
Léa and Lucas are looking at a children's book.
- LéaRegarde, il y a un garçon et une fille dans l'histoire.Look, there is a boy and a girl in the story.
- LucasIls ont l'air très heureux, tous les deux.They both look very happy.
- LéaLe garçon joue avec un petit chien.The boy is playing with a little dog.
- LucasEt la fille court dans le jardin.And the girl is running in the garden.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries et, fille, garçon, un, une, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
