Question 1

Why is the word order où est l'hôtel (where is the hotel) instead of matching the English 'where the hotel is'?

Accepted Answer

In English, we change the word order when we put a question inside a statement. French keeps it simple! You don't have to switch the words around. You just use the normal question order: où (where) + est (is) + l'hôtel (the hotel).

Question 2

What is the dictionary form of the verb sais?

Accepted Answer

It comes from the verb savoir, which means "to know" a fact, how to do something, or a piece of information. Je sais means "I know", and here it is wrapped in ne ... pas to mean "I do not know".

Question 3

Why does the word où have an accent mark?

Accepted Answer

The accent marks a very important difference in meaning! With the accent, où means "where". Without the accent, ou means "or". They sound exactly the same when spoken, so the accent is the only way to tell them apart in writing.

Question 4

Why is it l'hôtel instead of le hôtel?

Accepted Answer

In French, the letter "h" is usually silent. When a word starts with a silent "h", it is treated just like a word starting with a vowel. Because of this rule, you drop the "e" in le and combine it with the noun, making it l'hôtel.

Je ne sais pas où est l'hôtel.

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