French Phrase
Évite les endroits sombres et isolés.
Meaning
‘Avoid dark and isolated places.’ This is a direct safety recommendation, often heard in travel guides, police warnings, or a friend looking out for you. The imperative tone makes it sound urgent but friendly.
When to use
Use this sentence when you want to warn someone about potentially unsafe locations—e.g., while giving travel advice, during a safety briefing, or in everyday conversation with a friend who is about to walk alone at night.
✦Grammar Breakdown
Évitelesendroitssombresetisolés.
Évite (imperative)
Évite is the second‑person singular imperative of éviter, used to give a direct command or advice.
les (definite article, plural)
les marks a specific set of nouns that are plural; it agrees with endroits, sombres and isolés.
endroits (noun, masculine plural)
endroit means ‘place’; in the plural it becomes endroits and takes the article les.
sombres & isolés (adjectives, plural agreement)
Both adjectives must agree in gender (masculine) and number (plural) with the noun endroits.
et (conjunction)
et simply links the two adjectives, meaning ‘and’.
🗨In Conversation
Évite les endroits sombres et isolés.
Avoid dark and isolated places.
D'accord, je resterai dans les rues bien éclairées.
Okay, I’ll stay in well‑lit streets.
✕Common Mistakes
Éviter les endroits sombres et isolés.
The infinitive ‘éviter’ cannot be used as a command; you need the imperative ‘Évite’ (or ‘Évitez’ for plural/formal).
les endroit sombres et isolés
The noun must stay plural; ‘endroit’ should be ‘endroits’ to match the article ‘les’.
sombre et isolé
Adjectives must agree in number with the plural noun; use ‘sombres’ and ‘isolés’.
↔Alternatives
Ne te rends pas dans des lieux sombres et isolés.
Don’t go to dark and isolated places.
Reste loin des zones sombres et isolées.
Stay away from dark and isolated areas.
Éloigne‑toi des endroits sombres et isolés.
Keep away from dark and isolated places.
Cultural Tip
In French‑speaking countries safety advice is often phrased in the informal imperative, especially among friends or when a police officer addresses a citizen directly. If you need a more formal tone (e.g., in a written notice), you can use the negative form ‘Ne vous rendez pas…’ or add ‘s’il vous plaît’ for politeness.