French Phrase
Branche bien les câbles de démarrage. Attends quelques minutes.
Meaning
The speaker is telling someone to connect the jumper cables correctly and then wait a short period before trying to start the engine again. It’s a practical instruction often heard in car‑repair situations.
When to use
Use this phrase when you are helping someone start a vehicle with a dead battery, or when you are giving step‑by‑step instructions for any equipment that requires jumper cables.
✦Grammar Breakdown
Branchebienlescâblesdedémarrage.Attendsquelquesminutes.
Impératif (2e personne du singulier)
‘Branche’ and ‘Attends’ are the affirmative imperative forms of ‘brancher’ and ‘attendre’ used when giving a direct command to one person.
Adverbe de manière
‘bien’ modifies the verb ‘brancher’ and stresses that the action must be done correctly.
Complément du nom
‘les câbles de démarrage’ is a noun phrase where ‘de démarrage’ specifies the type of cables.
Quantificateur
‘quelques minutes’ means ‘a few minutes’; ‘quelques’ is an indefinite adjective that must agree in number with the noun.
🗨In Conversation
Branche bien les câbles de démarrage.
Connect the jumper cables properly.
D'accord, j'attends quelques minutes.
Okay, I’ll wait a few minutes.
✕Common Mistakes
Attends quelques minute.
‘Minute’ must be plural because ‘quelques’ implies more than one.
Branche les câbles de démarrage.
Missing ‘bien’; without it the instruction sounds less precise.
Branche bien le câbles de démarrage.
‘Câbles’ is plural, so the article must be ‘les’, not ‘le’.
↔Alternatives
Connecte correctement les câbles de démarrage.
Connect the starter cables correctly.
Attends quelques minutes avant de tenter de démarrer.
Wait a few minutes before trying to start.
Assure‑toi que les câbles sont bien branchés, puis patiente quelques minutes.
Make sure the cables are well connected, then wait a few minutes.
Cultural Tip
In French, the imperative can be softened with ‘bien’ to stress care, especially in technical contexts. When speaking to a group or in a more formal setting, use the plural imperative: ‘Branchez bien les câbles…’ and ‘Attendez quelques minutes.’