Questions & Answers about Je pense que ce projet est fou.
In English, we often drop "that" and just say "I think this project is crazy". Can I drop que in French?
No, in French, the word que is absolutely required to connect the two parts of the sentence (Je pense and ce projet est fou). You can never skip it like we do in English. Are there other common verbs besides penser that use que to link ideas like this?
Yes! You will use que very often with verbs of thinking, knowing, and saying. Common examples include croire (Je crois que... / I believe that...), savoir (Je sais que... / I know that...), and dire (Je dis que... / I say that...). Why doesn't que change to qu' in front of ce?
We only drop the E in que (and add an apostrophe) when the next word begins with a vowel or a silent H, like in qu'il or qu'elle. Because ce starts with a consonant, que stays as a full word. Why is it ce projet? Isn't there another word for "this" for masculine nouns?
Ce is the standard word for "this" with masculine nouns. You might be thinking of cet, which is only used for masculine nouns that start with a vowel or silent H (like cet homme). Since projet starts with a consonant, ce is the correct choice. How would the adjective fou change if the noun was feminine, like cette idée (this idea)?
The feminine form of fou (crazy) is very irregular: it becomes folle. So, you would say Je pense que cette idée est folle. Learn Je pense que ce projet est fou and more in French
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