Question 1

Why is it pas de viande and not pas de la viande?

Accepted Answer

In French, when you use a negative verb like ne mange pas (doesn't eat) to say you consume or have zero amount of something, you use de (or d') instead of the usual partitive articles like du, de la, or des. Since he eats absolutely no meat, the feminine article drops and it simply becomes pas de viande.

Question 2

Why does the sentence use Cet instead of Ce for "This"?

Accepted Answer

Normally, "this" or "that" for a masculine noun is ce. However, homme starts with a silent "h", which acts like a vowel sound. To make it flow better when spoken, ce changes to cet before masculine words starting with a vowel or a silent "h" (Cet homme).

Question 3

Why doesn't the French sentence say "est un végétarien"?

Accepted Answer

In English, we say "is a vegetarian." But in French, when you use the verb être (to be) to state someone's profession, religion, or a defining lifestyle identity like being a vegetarian, you usually drop the article (un or une). You just say est végétarien.

Question 4

How would this sentence change if we were talking about a woman?

Accepted Answer

If the subject were a woman, "This woman" would be Cette femme. You would also need the feminine version of the word for vegetarian, which doubles the "n" and adds an "e": Cette femme est végétarienne, elle ne mange pas de viande.

Cet homme est végétarien, il ne mange pas de viande.

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