Il a caché le vin dans une cave.

Questions & Answers about Il a caché le vin dans une cave.

Why does this sentence use dans instead of chez to say where the wine is?
The preposition chez is only used with people, meaning at the home or workplace of someone (like chez le dentiste). Because une cave is a physical place or object and not a person, we must use dans (in or inside) instead.
Does une cave mean a cave in English?
No, this is a classic false friend! In French, une cave means a cellar or basement, especially one used for storage. A natural rock cave out in the wilderness is called une grotte.
How does the past tense work in a caché?
This is the passé composé (past tense), meaning hid or has hidden. It uses the present tense of avoir (il a) as a helping verb, followed by the past participle of the verb cacher (caché).
Do I pronounce the s at the end of dans?
Normally the s at the end of dans is silent. However, because the next word (une) starts with a vowel, you make a spoken connection called a liaison. The s links directly to the u and makes a z sound.

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