Log inSign up

Le plastique pollue la mer et la terre.

Le plastique pollue la mer et la terre.
Plastic pollutes the sea and the earth.
From Lesson 122:Comparing quantities of nouns (plus de... que)·French

Questions & Answers about Le plastique pollue la mer et la terre.

Why is there a le before plastique when the English translation just says 'Plastic'?
In English, we drop the word 'the' when talking about general materials or concepts. In French, you always need a definite article (le, la, or les) for general categories.
Does la terre mean 'the Earth' (the planet) or just the ground?
It can mean both depending on the context! Here, it means the land or ground, contrasting with la mer (the sea). When referring to the planet, it is usually capitalized as la Terre.
Is the 'e' at the end of pollue pronounced?
No, it is silent. Pollue comes from the regular -er verb polluer. For the 'it' form (Le plastique), the -e ending is not pronounced, so you just end on the French 'u' sound.
How would I use this lesson's grammar to say plastic creates 'more pollution'?
You would use plus de followed by the noun. For example, Le plastique crée plus de pollution (Plastic creates more pollution). Remember that after plus, moins, or autant, you always use de by itself, never de la or du!

Learn Le plastique pollue la mer et la terre and more in French

All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.

  • ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
  • ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
  • ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free
Start learning French →