Learn French: Elle reçoit une belle médaille. - She receives a beautiful medal.

Elle reçoit une belle médaille.

She receives a beautiful medal.

Breakdown of Elle reçoit une belle médaille.

Questions & Answers about Elle reçoit une belle médaille.

Why does reçoit have a cedilla (ç) under the c?

The infinitive is recevoir. In French, a c before an o makes a hard "k" sound. To keep the soft "s" sound from the infinitive, we must add a cedilla before the o. You will see this in je reçois as well, but not in nous recevons because a c before an e is already soft naturally.

How do I conjugate recevoir for the other pronouns?

It is an irregular verb. The singular forms all use the cedilla and end in -ois or -oit: je reçois, tu reçois, il/elle reçoit. The nous and vous forms drop the cedilla and the i: nous recevons, vous recevez. The plural ils/elles form brings the i and cedilla back: ils reçoivent.

Why is belle placed before médaille instead of after it?

Most French adjectives come after the noun, but short, common adjectives describing Beauty, Age, Goodness, or Size (often called the BANGS rule) go before the noun. Because belle describes beauty, it sits right in front of médaille.

How would this sentence change if she received a masculine object, like a prize (un prix)?