Question 1

Why is it positive and not positif?

Accepted Answer

The adjective describes elle (which refers to l'équipe). Because équipe is a feminine noun, the adjective must be feminine too. To make an adjective ending in -f (like positif) feminine, you change the -f to -ve, resulting in positive.

Question 2

Why use elle if the English translation says "it"?

Accepted Answer

In French, pronouns must match the grammatical gender of the noun they replace. Since l'équipe (the team) is a feminine noun, you have to use the feminine pronoun elle, even though a team is an "it" in English.

Question 3

Why are the negative words placed before gagné?

Accepted Answer

This sentence uses the past tense (passé composé). In this tense, the negative pieces ne and pas go around the short helping verb (a), not the main action verb (gagné). That is why it is n'a pas gagné instead of n'a gagné pas.

Question 4

Does reste mean "rests" or "takes a break" here?

Accepted Answer

No, the verb rester is a common "false friend." It looks like the English word "to rest," but it actually means "to stay" or "to remain." So elle reste positive means "it remains positive." (If you want to say "to rest," you would use the verb se reposer).

L'équipe n'a pas gagné, mais elle reste positive.

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