Learn French: Elle est très forte.

Elle est très forte.

She is very strong.

Breakdown of Elle est très forte.

Questions & Answers about Elle est très forte.

Why is the word for strong spelled forte here instead of fort?

Because the subject is Elle (She), which is feminine. In French, adjectives must match the gender of the person or thing they describe. To make the regular masculine adjective fort feminine, you just add an -e to the end.

Does adding the -e to forte change how it sounds?

Yes, it changes the pronunciation! In the masculine form fort, the final -t is silent. But when you add the -e to make the feminine forte, you must pronounce that -t. It sounds very close to the English word "fort".

How would I say "He is very strong"?

You would say Il est très fort. Since Il (He) is masculine, you use the masculine adjective fort without the extra -e.

Do I pronounce the -s at the end of très?

Not in this sentence. The -s in très is silent because the next word (forte) starts with a consonant. If the next word started with a vowel sound, you would hear the -s pronounced as a "z" sound to link the words together.