Cette boisson est froide.

Questions & Answers about Cette boisson est froide.

The lesson is about the verb boire (to drink). Why isn't a form of boire in this sentence?
While the lesson is about the action of drinking, this sentence uses the noun form, boisson, which means a beverage or a drink. The actual verb happening in this sentence is est (is).
Why do we use cette instead of ce for this?
Cette is the feminine word for this. Even though it doesn't end in an e, boisson is a feminine noun (most French words ending in -sson are). Because the noun is feminine, we must use cette instead of the masculine ce.
Why does froide have an e at the end?
In French, describing words (adjectives) change to match the gender of the noun. Because boisson is feminine, we use the feminine form for cold, which is froide. If we were talking about a masculine object, like ce café (this coffee), it would just be froid.
I learned to say J'ai froid for I am cold. Why do we use est (is) instead of a form of avoir (to have) here?
Great question! When a person or animal feels cold, French uses avoir (to have), as in J'ai froid (I have cold). But when an object is physically cold to the touch, like a drink, you use être (to be) and treat it as a normal adjective, just like we do in English!

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