French Phrase
Les lumières sont éteintes en bas ?
Meaning
This question asks whether the lights are turned off in the lower part of a building, such as a basement, ground floor, or any area that is ‘downstairs’. It uses the verb ‘être’ with the past participle ‘éteint’ to describe the state of the lights.
When to use
Use this sentence when you want to check the lighting situation in a downstairs area – in a house, an office, a hotel corridor, or any place where you need to know if the lights are already off before entering or turning them on.
✦Grammar Breakdown
Leslumièressontéteintesenbas?
Definite article (Les)
‘Les’ is the plural definite article used before both masculine and feminine nouns.
Noun gender & number (lumières)
‘lumière’ is a feminine noun; its plural form is ‘lumières’.
Verb être (sont)
‘être’ conjugated in the third‑person plural present tense agrees with ‘les lumières’.
Past participle as adjective (éteintes)
When ‘être’ is used to describe a state, the past participle agrees in gender and number with the subject: ‘éteintes’ matches the feminine plural ‘lumières’.
Adverbial phrase (en bas)
‘en bas’ means ‘downstairs’ or ‘below’; it functions as an adverb indicating location.
🗨In Conversation
Les lumières sont éteintes en bas ?
Are the lights off downstairs?
Oui, elles le sont. Tu peux allumer le interrupteur si tu veux.
Yes, they are. You can turn on the switch if you want.
✕Common Mistakes
Les lumières sont éteint en bas ?
The past participle must agree with the feminine plural subject ‘lumières’, so it should be ‘éteintes’.
Les lumières éteint en bas ?
The verb ‘être’ is required to form the state; you cannot drop it.
Les lumières sont éteintes au bas ?
‘En bas’ is correct for ‘downstairs’, but some learners mistakenly write ‘au bas’, which is not idiomatic.
↔Alternatives
Est‑ce que les lumières sont éteintes en bas ?
Are the lights off downstairs?
Les lumières sont‑elles éteintes en bas ?
Are the lights off downstairs?
Les lumières sont éteintes au rez‑de‑chaussée ?
Are the lights off on the ground floor?
Cultural Tip
In everyday French, ‘en bas’ is the most common way to say ‘downstairs’. In more formal contexts or when you need to be precise (e.g., in a building with multiple levels), you might use ‘au rez‑de‑chaussée’ (ground floor) or ‘au sous‑sol’ (basement). Remember that the past participle ‘éteint’ must agree with the noun it describes, so you say ‘éteintes’ for ‘les lumières’. Also, French speakers often add a polite ‘est‑ce que’ or inversion (‑elles) to turn statements into questions.