Accrocher or suspendre? Coats, pictures and hanging lamps
See how accrocher and suspendre work with a coat, a picture and a ceiling lamp, then recognise suspendre for a meeting pause. Picture cards and quiz.
In short
Accrocher focuses on attaching or hooking something; suspendre focuses on hanging it from a support. Both can describe the same object. Suspendre also means putting an activity on hold: suspendre la réunion.
Yellow the idea to rememberBlue French to learn
accrocherhang, hook, attach
Focus: fastening something to a support
accrocher quelque chose à…
Accroche ton manteau au porte-manteau.
Hang your coat on the coat rack.
Nous accrochons le tableau au mur.
We hang the picture on the wall.
suspendrehang, suspend
Focus: an object hanging from above
suspendre quelque chose à…
Ils suspendent une lampe au plafond.
They hang a lamp from the ceiling.
La lampe est suspendue au-dessus de la table.
The lamp hangs above the table.
What hangs, and what holds it?
Find:
Can accrocher and suspendre describe the same thing?
- Lina
Tu peux accrocher la guirlande à cette branche ?
Can you attach the garland to this branch?
- Hugo
Oui. Et l’autre bout ?
Yes. And the other end?
- Lina
À l’autre arbre. Comme ça, elle sera suspendue au-dessus de la table.
To the other tree. That way it will hang above the table.
Accrocher la guirlande describes fastening it; la guirlande est suspendue describes its position afterwards. A snag uses a related construction: Mon sac s’est accroché à la poignée means “My bag caught on the handle”. Here the attachment happens accidentally.
| French | English |
|---|---|
| La réunion est suspendue pendant dix minutes. | The meeting is suspended for ten minutes. |
| La réunion reprend à quinze heures. | The meeting resumes at three o’clock. |
| je suspends / nous suspendons / ils suspendent | present-tense forms |
| une lampe suspendue / un tableau accroché | a hanging lamp / a picture hung up |