long
long
In French, 'long' is used in a similar way to English to describe an object, distance, or time period that has great duration or length. For example, 'un long voyage' means 'a long trip.' It's important to note that 'long' also agrees with the gender and number of the noun it modifies, becoming 'longs' for masculine plural objects, 'longue' for singular feminine objects, and 'longues' for plural feminine objects.
Example sentences using: long
Ce livre est trop long à lire.
This book is too long to read.
In this sentence, 'long' is used to describe the length of the book. It could either mean the physical length or more accurately, the length in terms of the number of pages or the time it takes to read.
La route a été longue.
The road was long.
Here, 'longue' implies that the distance covered by the road was considerable - it could refer to a physical journey or a metaphorical one.
Il a les cheveux longs.
He has long hair.
This phrase uses 'long' to describe the length of a person's hair. It's quite straightforward and has the same usage as it does in English.
Le film était tellement long que je me suis endormi.
The movie was so long that I fell asleep.
In this context, 'long' is used to imply the duration of the movie. The movie ran for such a length of time that the speaker ended up falling asleep.
J'ai attendu longtemps.
I waited a long time.
The term 'longtemps' is a French adverb that means 'for a long time'. It encapsulates the idea of a lengthy duration.
La réunion a duré plus longtemps que prévu.
The meeting lasted longer than expected.
In this sentence, 'longtemps' is used to express the unexpected extended duration of the meeting.
Le serpent est très long.
The snake is very long.
This is a straightforward use of the word 'long' to describe the physical length of a snake.
La liste de courses de ma mère est très longue.
My mother's shopping list is very long.
This sentence uses 'long' to describe the extensive variety of items on the mother's shopping list.
Nous avons parcouru un long chemin ensemble.
We have come a long way together.
In this context, 'long' is used in a metaphorical sense to express the extensive journey or experience shared between the people involved.
Ce pont est le plus long du pays.
This bridge is the longest in the country.
Here, 'long' is used to describe the length of the bridge compared to all other bridges in the country.