Learn French: Le pont est en face du musée. - The bridge is opposite the museum.

Le pont est en face du musée.

The bridge is opposite the museum.

Breakdown of Le pont est en face du musée.

of the / from the (masculine singular, with plural des)

le pont

the bridge

Questions & Answers about Le pont est en face du musée.

Why is it du here instead of de or de le?

The phrase for "opposite" is en face de (literally "in face of"). When de meets the masculine article le (for le musée), they must combine into du. In French, you can never say de le.

Why is there a du (of the) when the English translation is just "opposite the"?

French uses the set phrase en face de to mean "opposite". Literally, you are saying "The bridge is in face of the museum." Because you need that de (of), it merges with le musée to create du musée.

Musée ends in an "e". Shouldn't it be feminine, making it de la musée?

While many French words ending in "e" are feminine, musée is an exception. It is masculine (le musée). That is why we use the masculine contraction du (de + le) instead of the feminine de la.

Do I pronounce the "t" at the end of pont?

No, the "t" at the end of pont is silent. You just pronounce the nasal "on" sound.