Talking About Gardening in French
In this lesson, you’ll learn how to say what you want or need to do in the garden in French. You’ll also practise using vouloir (to want) and avoir besoin de (to need).
Sentence Builder: In the Garden
Expressing What You Want to Do
Sentence Builder
Qu’est-ce que vous voulez faire dans le jardin ?
What do you want to do in the garden?
Start with
Je veux…
I want…
Il veut…
He wants…
Elle veut…
She wants…
Nous voulons…
We want…
Garden action
planter des fleurs
to plant flowers
arroser les plantes
to water the plants
tondre la pelouse
to mow the lawn
couper les mauvaises herbes
to cut the weeds
ramasser les feuilles
to pick up the leaves
Add detail
dans le jardin
in the garden
aujourd’hui
today
ce week-end
this weekend
quand il fait beau
when the weather is nice
vouloir
means “to want”.
Je veux planter…
After veux, use the infinitive form of the next verb.
la pelouse
A clear, standard way to say “the lawn”.
Grammar Tip:
When you use vouloir with another verb, it’s followed by the infinitive.
For example:
Je veux arroser le jardin. → I want to water the garden.
In this structure, vouloir acts as an auxiliary verb (a helping verb).
Expressing What You Need
Sentence Builder
De quoi avez-vous besoin dans le jardin ?
What do you need in the garden?
Start with
J’ai besoin…
I need…
Il a besoin…
He needs…
Elle a besoin…
She needs…
Nous avons besoin…
We need…
Garden tools
d’un râteau
a rake
d’un arrosoir
a watering can
d’un sécateur
secateurs
d’une pelle
a spade / shovel
d’une tondeuse
a lawn mower
Add a reason
pour arroser les plantes
to water the plants
pour tondre la pelouse
to mow the lawn
pour planter des fleurs
to plant flowers
pour ramasser les feuilles
to pick up the leaves
pour couper les mauvaises herbes
to cut the weeds
avoir besoin de
means “to need”.
de + un → d’un
Use d’un before a masculine singular noun.
de + une → d’une
Use d’une before a feminine singular noun.
Grammar Tip:
Notice how de changes to d’ before a vowel or silent h:
d’un arrosoir, d’une tondeuse
Literally, avoir besoin de means “to have need of,” but it’s translated as “to need.”
Try It Yourself: Gardening
Translate each sentence into French. Think of your answer first, then reveal the model answer.
Question 1
Give the following in French:
I want to plant flowers.
Je veux planter des fleurs.
Question 2
Give the following in French:
He wants to water the plants.
Il veut arroser les plantes.
Question 3
Give the following in French:
She wants to mow the lawn.
Elle veut tondre la pelouse.
Question 4
Give the following in French:
I need a watering can.
J’ai besoin d’un arrosoir.
Question 5
Give the following in French:
We need a rake to pick up the leaves.
Nous avons besoin d’un râteau pour ramasser les feuilles.