Question 1

Why is it n'est instead of ne est?

Accepted Answer

In French, when the negative word ne comes right before a verb that starts with a vowel (like est), the e is dropped and replaced with an apostrophe. This is called elision, and it makes the words flow together smoothly.

Question 2

Where exactly do the negative words go in this sentence?

Accepted Answer

To make a sentence negative in French, you put the conjugated verb inside a "sandwich" made of ne (or n') and pas. In this sentence, the verb est (is) is sandwiched to make n'est pas (is not).

Question 3

Why does importante end with an -e?

Accepted Answer

In French, adjectives have to match the gender of the noun they describe. Idée (idea) is a feminine noun, so the adjective must be in its feminine form. We add an -e to the default masculine word important to get importante.

Question 4

Since the sentence uses L' instead of La, how can I tell that idée is feminine?

Accepted Answer

Le and La both change to L' in front of a vowel, so the article itself doesn't give away the gender here. You usually just have to memorize that it is une idée. However, in this sentence, the extra -e on the adjective importante gives you a great hint that idée is feminine!

L'idée n'est pas importante.

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