Est-ce que ce cadeau te plaît ?

Questions & Answers about Est-ce que ce cadeau te plaît ?

Why does this sentence use te instead of tu?
Tu is a subject pronoun meaning "you", but here the subject of the sentence is actually ce cadeau (this present). Te is an indirect object pronoun meaning "to you". In French, instead of saying "you like this present", you literally say "this present is pleasing to you".
How exactly does the verb plaire work here? The English translation seems backwards!
The verb plaire (to please) is used to say that you like something, but the structure is flipped compared to English. The thing you like is the subject, and you are the indirect object. So, ce cadeau te plaît word-for-word means "this present pleases to you".
Why does te come before the verb instead of after it?
In French, indirect object pronouns like te (to you), me (to me), nous (to us), and vous (to you all/formal) are placed directly before the conjugated verb they belong to. That is why te is placed right before plaît, rather than at the end of the sentence.
Why is it ce cadeau and not cet cadeau?
Cadeau is a masculine noun starting with a consonant, so it takes the standard masculine demonstrative adjective ce (this/that). You only use cet before a masculine noun if it starts with a vowel or a silent H, like in cet ami (this friend).

Learn Est-ce que ce cadeau te plaît 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