Learn French: Le journal vient de publier un article sur ce projet. - The newspaper just published an article about this project.

Le journal vient de publier un article sur ce projet.

The newspaper just published an article about this project.

Breakdown of Le journal vient de publier un article sur ce projet.

Questions & Answers about Le journal vient de publier un article sur ce projet.

How does vient de publier translate to "just published"?

To say that someone "just" did something, French uses the verb venir (to come) + de + an infinitive verb (the unchanged dictionary form of an action word). Here, vient is the "it" form of venir to match le journal. So vient de publier literally means "comes from publishing", which is the standard French way to say "just published".

Does journal mean "journal" or "diary" here?

In French, un journal most commonly means "a newspaper". While it can sometimes mean a personal diary, in the context of publishing articles, it definitely refers to a newspaper.

I thought sur meant "on". Why is it translated as "about"?

You are right that sur means "on" when talking about physical location, like a book on a table. However, when talking or writing about a specific topic, French also uses sur. So un article sur ce projet translates perfectly to "an article about this project".

Why is it ce projet instead of le projet?

Ce is a pointing word (a demonstrative adjective) that means "this" or "that" for masculine nouns. If the sentence used le projet, it would just mean "the project". Using ce projet specifically emphasizes "this project".