Questions & Answers about L'eau est sur la table.
Why is it l'eau instead of la eau or le eau?
Because eau starts with a vowel, the word for "the" (le or la) drops its vowel and becomes l' so the words flow together easily. Even though l' hides the gender, eau is actually a feminine noun. If you wanted to say "a water", you would use the feminine indefinite article: une eau.
How can I tell what gender the word "table" is here?
The word la before it gives it away! La is the feminine word for "the", which tells us table is a feminine noun. If we wanted to change this sentence to say "a table" instead of "the table", we would use the feminine indefinite article and say une table.
How do I pronounce "est"? Do I say the "s" and "t"?