Learn French: L'orange est sur la table. - The orange is on the table.

L'orange est sur la table.

The orange is on the table.

Breakdown of L'orange est sur la table.

Questions & Answers about L'orange est sur la table.

Why does the sentence say l'orange? How do I know if it is masculine or feminine?

In French, the words for "the" (le and la) drop their vowel and become l' before a word that starts with a vowel (like orange). Because of this, you can't tell the gender just by looking at l'orange. However, orange is a feminine noun. If you wanted to say "an orange", you would use the feminine indefinite article: une orange.

If I wanted to say "a table" instead of "the table", would I use un or une?

You would use une table. We know table is a feminine noun in this sentence because it uses the feminine word for "the" (la). Therefore, it must take the feminine word for "a" (une).

How do I pronounce the word est?

est is the French word for "is", and it is pronounced exactly like the English letter "A" (or the "e" in the word "pet"). You do not pronounce the s or the t at the end of the word.

I always confuse sur and sous. How can I remember which one is used here?

sur means "on", which is what we need for this sentence ("on the table"). sous means "under". A handy memory trick for English speakers is that sur has an "r", just like "surface"—so the orange is on the surface of the table!