pas d'école
The English phrase "no school" is translated into French as pas d'école.
pas d'école is used to indicate that classes are not being held or that it is a school holiday. You may also encounter terms like vacances for vacation or congé scolaire for a school holiday.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Quebec French, the term congé can be used to refer to a day off from school. In West Africa, the phrase Pas de cours aujourd'hui, c'est repos! is used to mean "No classes today, it's rest day!"
How does it change in a sentence?
In a full sentence, the phrase pas d'école is almost always preceded by il n'y a to form the expression il n'y a pas d'école (there is no school).
Did you know?
- The word pas in pas d'école originally meant 'a step' in Latin. It evolved from a phrase meaning 'not a single step' into a grammatical tool used to express any kind of negation.
- In Quebec, the word congé is a standard way for a student to describe a day off from school, whereas in France, it is mostly reserved for professional leave.
- While pas d'école is a direct translation, French speakers often prefer to say pas de cours, focusing on the absence of 'lessons' rather than the building itself.
Examples in context
- Dans ma ville, il n'y a pas d'école pour apprendre l'espéranto.In my city, there is no school for learning Esperanto.The sentence uses pas d'école to describe the absence of a school for learning Esperanto.Tatoeba #1434647 by martin9, translation #1434985 by CS
- Nous n'avions pas d'école aujourd'hui !We had no school today!The sentence uses pas d'école to state that there was no school today.Tatoeba #9071170 by carlosalberto, translation #3873865 by Hybrid
- Avec un peu de chance, il n'y aura pas d'école demain.With any luck, there will be no school tomorrow.The sentence uses pas d'école to express hope that there will be no school tomorrow.Tatoeba #1638725 by belgavox, translation #738182 by Zifre
- En raison de conditions climatiques extrêmes, aucune activité scolaire ne sera assurée aujourd'hui.Due to extreme weather conditions, there will be no school activities today.
- Veuillez noter qu'en raison d'une grève, il n'y aura pas de cours demain.Please note that due to a strike, there will be no classes tomorrow.
- Salut Lisa, pas d'école aujourd'hui, on peut se retrouver au parc ?Hey Lisa, no school today, shall we meet at the park?
- Trop cool, pas de classe cet après-midi !Awesome, no classes this afternoon!
- Pas d'école demain, c'est congé!No school tomorrow, it's a day off!
Example conversation
Manon and Gabriel are talking about the upcoming holidays.
- ManonDemain, il n'y a pas d'école !Tomorrow, there is no school!
- GabrielC'est vrai ? C'est super !Is that true? That's great!
- ManonOui, c'est les vacances pour nous.Yes, it's the holidays for us.
- GabrielOn va pouvoir bien se reposer.We will be able to rest well.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries pas, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
