Learn French: J'ai vu un oiseau sur le toit.

J'ai vu un oiseau sur le toit.

I saw a bird on the roof.

Breakdown of J'ai vu un oiseau sur le toit.

Questions & Answers about J'ai vu un oiseau sur le toit.

Since we are learning about chez, could I say chez le toit here?

No, the preposition chez is only used for people, pronouns, or professions (like chez le médecin or chez moi). Because a roof (le toit) is an inanimate object or place, we can't use chez. The bird is physically on top of the roof, so we use sur (on).

Why is it J'ai vu and not just Je vu?

Vu is the past participle of the irregular verb voir (to see). In French, this past tense (the passé composé) requires two parts: a helper verb and the past participle. Here, the helper verb is ai (from avoir). So, J'ai vu translates to 'I have seen' or 'I saw'.

Oiseau has so many vowels! How do I remember if it is masculine or feminine?

Nouns ending in -eau (like un oiseau, un bateau, un château) are almost always masculine. You can also spot the masculine article un right before it in this sentence to help you remember!

Do I pronounce the t at the end of toit?

No, the final t in toit is completely silent. In French, the letter combination oi makes a 'wa' sound, so toit is pronounced just like 'twa'.