Breakdown of Elle étudie une langue étrangère.
une
a / an (feminine)
elle
she
étudier
to study
la langue
the language
Questions & Answers about Elle étudie une langue étrangère.
Why does étrangère have an accent grave (è)?
The masculine form of this adjective is étranger (foreign). To make it feminine to match the feminine noun une langue, adjectives ending in -er change their ending to -ère. This rule adds an 'e' at the end and an accent grave over the preceding 'e'.
Why does étrangère come after langue?
In French, most adjectives are placed after the noun they describe. Only a specific group of common adjectives (usually describing beauty, age, goodness, or size) go before the noun. Adjectives describing categories, like étrangère (foreign) or nationalities, always go after.
Why does étudie end with a plain 'e' instead of 'é'?
Étudie is the present tense verb meaning 'studies'. For regular -er verbs like étudier, the elle form ends in a plain, unaccented -e. If you see étudié with an accent at the very end, that is the past participle meaning 'studied', which is used to build past tenses.