Today’s lesson covers a faux ami (false cognate) which confuses many students: la location meaning “rental” and “renting” and NOT the English “location”. The English word “location” is l’endroit in French (link to lesson below).
la location
rental, renting
Word origin
The feminine noun location in Modern French comes from locatio in Latin, meaning “renting” or “hiring out”.
Example sentences
As an invariable adjective (meaning there’s no masculine or feminine form), de location means “rental”. The pronoun on used in this sentence means “one”, “you” or “people in general.
À Chamonix on peut trouver des skis de location.
You can find rental skis in Chamonix.
The word pendant means “during” in French but means “for” in this sentence – pendant une semaine (for one week).
J’ai conduit une voiture de location pendant une semaine en France.
I drove a rental car for a week in France.
For this final sentence, la location is a noun meaning “the rental”.
La location de mon appartement me permet de passer quelques mois à l’étranger.
The rental of my apartment allows me to spend a few months abroad.
Related lessons
Reference
Word of the Day | Lessons by David Issokson
