Everything Falls in French: The Verb TOMBER

The next time someone tells you French is “logical” (no one actually says that, but let’s pretend), tell them about the verb tomber.

In the dictionary, it simply means “to fall.”

In real life? Everything falls: people, objects, love, holidays, even illnesses!

Here’s just a glimpse of what tomber can mean in French:

• Tomber de l’échelle - to fall off a ladder. (Painful, but clear.)

• Le verre est tombé - the glass fell. (Yes, it happens. And remember, it uses être as its auxiliary in the past.)

• Tomber sur quelqu’un - to bump into someone unexpectedly.

• Tomber un jeudi - to happen on a Thursday.

• Tomber amoureux - to fall in love. (The nicest fall!)

• Tomber malade - to fall ill. (The less pleasant one.)

• Faire tomber - to drop something (always “by accident,” of course).

• Tomber bien - to come at the right time.

• Tomber en panne  - to break down (usually a car or a device).

• Tomber à l’eau - to be cancelled.

• Tomber dans le panneau - to fall into a trap, to be fooled.

• Tomber d’accord - to reach an agreement.

• Tomber du lit - to wake up too early.

In short: in French, everything falls, but not always in the way you expect.

And now, a true story… Well, almost.

Ce jour-là…

Je suis tombée du lit. Je ne sais pas ce qui s’est passé mais à 5h07, j’étais réveillée. Comme j’avais beaucoup de temps devant moi, j’ai décidé de faire un peu de ménage. En voulant nettoyer l’étagère, je suis tombée de la chaise et un vase est tombé aussi. Ça commençait mal ! En sortant de chez moi, je suis tombée sur mon voisin que je n’avais pas vu depuis des mois. Il m’a dit : “Tu tombes bien ! Je voulais t’inviter à dîner jeudi soir !” J’ai pensé : “Ça tombe mal, je finis tard ce jour-là.” Mais j’ai accepté, bien sûr.

Le soir même, en rentrant du bureau, ma voiture est tombée en panne. Et comme il faisait froid et que je suis restée longtemps à attendre la dépanneuse, je suis tombée malade. J’avais prévu un week-end randonnée avec des copains. Évidemment, c’est tombé à l’eau.

Le seul côté positif à cette histoire : mon voisin s’est occupé de moi quand j’étais malade. Il m’a apporté de la soupe, il m’a fait du thé, il s’est occupé de mon chien… Je crois que je suis en train de tomber amoureuse !

That day…

I fell out of bed. I don’t know what happened, but at 5:07 a.m., I was wide awake. Since I had plenty of time ahead of me, I decided to do some cleaning. Trying to reach the top shelf, I fell off the chair, and a vase fell with me. Great start to the day, right?

As I left home, I bumped into my neighbor, which I hadn’t seen for months. He said, “Perfect timing! I was just about to invite you to dinner on Thursday!” I thought, “Bad timing… I finish late that day.” But of course, I said yes.

That same evening, on my way home from work, my car broke down. Since it was cold and I waited ages for the tow truck, I caught a cold.

I had planned a hiking weekend with friends. Obviously, it all fell through.

The only bright side: my neighbor took care of me while I was sick. He brought me soup, made me tea, looked after my dog… I think I’m falling in love!

In short, when you learn French, you never fall into boredom (tomber dans l'ennui).

Now tell me: do you know any other French verbs that change meaning completely depending on the context, just like tomber?

Share them in the comments, I’d love to read your ideas!