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How to Say ‘We could spend an hour there’ in French

On risque d'y passer une heure

on REESK d' ee pah-say ewn ehr

[on REESK d' ee pah-say ewn ehr]

💬 Usage Tip: Y stands in for "there", meaning the place just mentioned, and it sits before the verb. Compare j'y vais "I'm going there".

Phrase Breakdown

On risque

on REESK

We're likely to / we risk

'On' is a nasal sound with no 'n'. 'Risque' sounds like 'reesk'. Here 'on risque de' means something is likely to happen.

Example

On risque d'être en retard.

We're likely to be late.

Words in this phrase

[on]

Used by a speaker to refer to themself and one or more other people considered together.

Example

On y va maintenant.

We are going now.

risque

[REESK]

risk / might

From « risquer »; « risquer de » means to be likely to.

Example

Il risque de pleuvoir.

It might rain.

d'y passer une heure

d' ee pah-say ewn ehr

to spend an hour there

'D'y' sounds like 'dee'. Link 'une heure' into one flow, 'u-neur', because the 'h' is silent.

Example

Tu vas y passer une heure.

You'll spend an hour there.

Words in this phrase

[d']

Indicating direction or relation.

Example

Je vous prie d'envoyer le document au plus vite.

I beg you to send the document as soon as possible.

[ee]

there

In or at that place.

Example

Y a-t-il une solution?

Is there a solution?

passer

[pah-say]

to spend; to pass

A verb that can mean to pass, but in expressions like “passer un bon moment,” it means “to spend” a good time.

Example

Passer un bon moment devant un match, c’est déjà une victoire.

Spending a good time in front of a match is already a victory.

une

[ewn]

a / an

An indefinite article used before feminine singular nouns.

Example

Une rencontre comme celle-ci peut ouvrir des portes.

A meeting like this can open doors.

heure

[ehr]

Hour

A period of time equal to a twenty-fourth part of a day and night and divided into 60 minutes.

Example

L'heure du dîner est à 20 heures.

Dinner time is at 8 o'clock.

Guides for French learners

Ordering in French: Cafés, Bakeries and Restaurants (with Menu Vocabulary)How to order in French at a café, a bakery and a restaurant: the phrases, the questions staff ask, and the menu and food vocabulary to understand the answers.Hello in French: Greetings, Good Evening and How to Answer "How Are You?"How to say hello in French, when to switch to good evening, how to ask how are you and what to answer, with tu vs vous and native audio.

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