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Le cochon est un animal.

Le cochon est un animal.
The pig is an animal.
From Lesson 81:Plurals ending in -al (-aux)·French

Breakdown of Le cochon est un animal.

l'animal
the animal (m)
le cochon
the pig

Questions & Answers about Le cochon est un animal.

Since animal ends in -al, how do I make it plural?
Most nouns and adjectives ending in -al change to -aux in the plural. So, un animal (an animal) becomes des animaux (animals). If we changed this whole sentence to plural, it would be Les cochons sont des animaux (Pigs are animals).
Could I say Un cochon instead of Le cochon here?
Yes, you could say Un cochon est un animal (A pig is an animal). However, French frequently uses the definite article (le or la) when talking about a whole category or species in a general sense, which is why we see Le cochon here.
Do I pronounce the t at the end of est?
Yes, you should make a liaison. Because the verb est is followed immediately by a word starting with a vowel (un), the normally silent t is pronounced. The two words flow together and sound like est-tun.

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