Question 1

How do I conjugate recevoir for other subjects, like 'he' or 'we'?

Accepted Answer

Recevoir is highly irregular. For singular subjects, it uses the 'oi' spelling: je reçois, tu reçois, il/elle reçoit. However, for 'we' and 'you' (plural/formal), it drops back to the 'e' from the infinitive: nous recevons, vous recevez. Finally, 'they receive' goes back to the 'oi' spelling: ils/elles reçoivent.

Question 2

Why is there a cedilla (the little hook) under the 'c' in reçois?

Accepted Answer

In French, a 'c' followed by an 'o', 'a', or 'u' makes a hard 'k' sound. To keep the soft 's' sound from the infinitive verb (recevoir), we must add a cedilla. Notice that we don't need it when the 'c' is followed by an 'e', like in the 'we' form: nous recevons.

Question 3

The English translation says 'I am receiving,' but where is the word for 'am' in the French sentence?

Accepted Answer

French does not have a separate present continuous tense like English does. The single verb reçois translates to both 'I receive' and 'I am receiving.' Trying to add a word for 'am' (like suis) here is a very common beginner mistake, but je reçois is all you need!

Question 4

I thought nouns ending in '-e' were usually feminine. Why is it mon diplôme instead of ma diplôme?

Accepted Answer

You are right that '-e' is often a feminine ending, but diplôme is an exception. It is a masculine noun. Because it is masculine, you must use the masculine possessive adjective mon (my) instead of the feminine ma.

Je reçois mon diplôme aujourd'hui.

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