il

1. he (third-person singular masculine subject pronoun for human subject)
2. it (third-person singular subject pronoun for grammatically masculine objects)
3. Impersonal subject; it

connut

third-person singular past historic of connaître

toutefois

however, nonetheless

dans le passé

in the past

une

• Num

  feminine singular of un

• Article
• Noun

certaine

feminine singular of certain

activité

1. activity (something to do for educational, recreational, or other purposes)
2. activity, hustle and bustle
3. occupation, profession, job, work

industrielle

feminine singular of industriel