Question 1

How do I know if enfant is masculine or feminine here, since l' doesn't tell me?

Accepted Answer

You actually can't tell from this sentence! The word enfant (child) is a bit special: it can be masculine (un enfant for a boy) or feminine (une enfant for a girl). Because it starts with a vowel, both le and la shrink to l', which hides the gender.

Question 2

If I wanted to say "A child is here" using this lesson's words, would it be un enfant or une enfant?

Accepted Answer

It depends on the child! If it is a boy, you use the masculine indefinite article: Un enfant est ici. If it is a girl, you use the feminine: Une enfant est ici. If you are talking about a child in general and don't know the gender, you default to the masculine un enfant.

Question 3

Why is it l'enfant and not le enfant?

Accepted Answer

In French, when the words for "the" (le or la) come right before a noun starting with a vowel (like the e in enfant), they drop their own vowel and combine with the noun using an apostrophe. This makes pronunciation smoother.

Question 4

I forget, which verb does est come from?

Accepted Answer

Est means "is", and it is a form of the irregular verb être (to be). It is the form used for "he", "she", "it", or a singular noun like l'enfant.

L'enfant est ici.

Breakdown of L'enfant est ici.

Questions & Answers about L'enfant est ici.

Learn L'enfant est ici and more in French