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Ranger, trier, classer: explore a desk in French

Edited by Chris Lee · Updated · About the library

Sort papers, file bills and put folders away. Explore an illustrated desk, compare ranger, trier and classer, then choose the right action.

In short

Ranger puts things in order or away, trier sorts them by a criterion, and classer organises them within a system. At a desk: je trie les papiers, je classe les factures, puis je range les dossiers.

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A French home-study desk seen slightly from above, tray of loose blank papers, separate blank sheets, open red ring binder, pencil pot, closed ochre notebook, low cupboard with coloured plain folders.
Trier, classer, puis ranger describe different actions. Illustration: Atelier

Explore the desk: find what gets sorted, filed and put away

A bright home study viewed from slightly above. On a wooden desk are a shallow tray of loose papers, a small separate pile of bills, a red ring binder, a pencil

What is the difference between ranger, trier and classer?

Three actions in order
ActionFrenchWhat changes?
SortJe trie les papiers.I separate what to keep from what to discard.
FileJe classe les factures par date.I give the bills an organised order.
Put awayJe range les dossiers dans le placard.I put the folders in their place.

There is useful overlap: trier les lettres par date and classer les lettres par date can both describe arranging letters by date. Trier highlights sorting through the items; classer highlights the organised result. A destination makes the putting-away sense of ranger clear: dans le tiroir, sur l’étagère, dans le placard.

Nous rangeons le bureau, mais nous ne le nettoyons pas encore.

We’re tidying the desk, but we aren’t cleaning it yet.

Ranger creates order; nettoyer removes dirt. Keep the e in nous rangeons.

Question 1No account needed
You separate papers into two piles: keep and discard. Which sentence names the sorting step?

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

Je trie les papiers.. Trier names separating the papers according to what you want to keep.

Question 2No account needed
Choose the correct present form.Nous ___ les dossiers dans le placard.

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

rangeons. In the present, nous rangeons keeps the e before -ons for the soft sound.

Question 3No account needed
Which sentence explicitly gives a filing system?

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

Je classe les factures par date.. Par date states the organising system used to file the bills.

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