Question 1

Why is it ce instead of cet or cette?

Accepted Answer

Ce is the masculine singular word for "this" or "that". We use it here because château is a masculine word. If the word were feminine, like maison (house), we would use cette. We only use cet for masculine words that start with a vowel or a silent h.

Question 2

Since we are learning about negative pronouns, how would I say "There is nobody in this castle"?

Accepted Answer

You would say Il n'y a personne dans ce château. Remember that personne (nobody) acts like the second half of a negative sandwich, replacing pas. So, il n'y a pas (there is not) becomes il n'y a personne (there is nobody).

Question 3

Why does vide end in an -e but abandonné ends in an -é? Are they both masculine?

Accepted Answer

Yes, both adjectives are masculine to agree with château. The adjective vide (empty) naturally ends in an unaccented -e in its base masculine dictionary form. The adjective abandonné (abandoned) ends in an accented -é. If we were describing a feminine noun, we would leave vide exactly the same, but we would have to add an extra -e to make abandonnée.

Question 4

Does the circumflex (the little hat) on the "a" in château change how it is pronounced?

Accepted Answer

It does not change the pronunciation much here, but it is a highly useful spelling clue! In French, a circumflex often shows where an "s" used to be in older versions of the language. If you imagine an "s" after the "a" (chasteau), it looks and sounds a lot like the English word "castle".

Ce château est vide et abandonné.

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