Breakdown of La pollution de la rivière est inquiétante.
être
to be
de
of / from / any (in negative sentences) / about (concerning)
la rivière
the river
la pollution
the pollution
inquiétant
worrying
Questions & Answers about La pollution de la rivière est inquiétante.
Why does inquiétante have an -e at the end? Isn't the present participle just inquiétant?
How can I tell that inquiétante is acting as an adjective here, rather than a true verb?
The biggest clue is its placement: it follows the verb est (is) to describe a state of being, exactly how a regular adjective works. Additionally, the fact that it has a feminine -e ending proves it is an adjective. If it were acting strictly as a verb (like "worrying the fish"), it would be invariable and stay as inquiétant.
What verb does inquiétante come from, and how is the base participle formed?
It comes from the verb inquiéter (to worry or to disturb). To form the base present participle, you take the nous form of the present tense (inquiétons), drop the -ons, and add -ant to get inquiétant.
Why do we say de la rivière instead of just de rivière?
Because we are talking about a specific river in this context ("the river"), we need the definite article la. If you just said pollution de rivière, it would translate more like "river pollution" as a general type or category, rather than the pollution belonging to this specific river.
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