Question 1

Why does répondu end in an -u?

Accepted Answer

This sentence is in the passé composé (a past tense). To say "you replied", we use a helper verb (tu as) plus the past participle of répondre (to reply). For regular verbs ending in -re, you drop the -re and add -u. So, répondre becomes répondu.

Question 2

Why is it au message instead of just le message?

Accepted Answer

In French, the verb répondre is followed by the preposition à (to reply to someone or something). Because message is masculine, we must combine à (to) and le (the). In French, à + le always contracts into au.

Question 3

How does de ta copine translate to "your friend's"?

Accepted Answer

French doesn't use an apostrophe-s ('s) for possession. Instead, you have to use the word de (of) and phrase it as "the message of your friend". So, au message de ta copine literally means "to the message of your friend".

Question 4

Why isn't there a word for "Did" at the beginning of the question?

Accepted Answer

In everyday spoken French, you can turn a normal sentence into a question simply by raising your voice at the end, just like saying "You replied?" in English. The word order stays exactly the same as a statement (Tu as répondu...). You don't need a direct translation for the question word "did".

Tu as répondu au message de ta copine ?

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