français · A2 · vocabulary · 4 minutes
Nature and landscapes
Describe a route through woods, water, mountains, and coast.
Understand the choice
Landscape vocabulary becomes memorable when it forms a route. A sentier can traverse a forêt, follow a rivière, climb toward a montagne, and finish beside a lac or on a plage.
Core rule: Traverser takes a direct object; arriver à introduces the destination reached.
Notice it in context
Le sentier traverse une forêt et arrive à un lac.
The path crosses a forest and reaches a lake.
Traverse acts directly on forêt; arrive à points to lac as the endpoint.
Nous montons une petite montagne.
We climb a small mountain.
Monter can take the thing climbed directly; petite precedes montagne.
L’île a des plages tranquilles.
The island has quiet beaches.
Des introduces an unspecified plural; tranquilles agrees with plages.
What to remember
- Rivière flows into another river; fleuve flows into the sea or ocean.
- Campagne is countryside and also a campaign; surrounding words distinguish the meanings.
Common trap: Do not use bois and forêt as perfect synonyms. Un bois is usually a smaller wooded area; une forêt is larger and denser.