je suis allé à l'église
In French, 'I went to church' is expressed as je suis allé à l'église.
This phrase is used to say that someone visited a church building.
What does it mean word for word?
The component à l'église literally translates to 'to the church', as French requires the definite article where English often omits it.
How does it change in a sentence?
The default form je suis allé à l'église is used when the speaker is male. If the speaker is female, the past participle must add an extra 'e' to become je suis allée à l'église.
Did you know?
- The word église is a linguistic loan from the Greek ekklesía, which originally meant 'assembly' or 'called-out meeting' rather than a building.
- While English speakers simply say 'I went', French uses the verb être ('to be') as an auxiliary, making the phrase literally 'I am gone to the church'.
- In French, saying je vais à l'église can refer to the act of practicing the religion of Christianity, not just the physical act of visiting a building.
Examples in context
- Je suis allé à l'église.I went to church.Tatoeba #8880847 by carlosalberto, translation #8880326 by CK
- Je suis allé à l'église ce matin.I went to church this morning.Tatoeba #378584 by Pharamp, translation #257541 by CK
- Hier, je suis allé à l'église avec mon frère.Yesterday, I went to church with my brother.
Example conversation
Léa and Gabriel are talking about their weekend.
- LéaQu'est-ce que tu as fait dimanche ?What did you do on Sunday?
- GabrielJe suis allé à l'église avec ma famille.I went to church with my family.
- LéaC'était un service spécial ?Was it a special service?
- GabrielOui, c'était pour un mariage.Yes, it was for a wedding.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
