Breakdown of Il y a un artiste sifflant une chanson.
un
a / an (masculine)
une
a / an (feminine)
il y a
there is / there are
la chanson
the song
Questions & Answers about Il y a un artiste sifflant une chanson.
How does sifflant replace a relative clause in this sentence?
In French, you can use the present participle (-ant) to replace a relative clause introduced by qui (who or that). So, instead of saying Il y a un artiste qui siffle une chanson (There is an artist who is whistling a song), you can shorten it to Il y a un artiste sifflant une chanson.
If there were multiple artists, would sifflant change to sifflants?
How exactly do we form sifflant from the verb?
To form the present participle for most verbs, take the nous (we) form in the present tense, drop the -ons ending, and add -ant. For siffler (to whistle), the nous form is sifflons. Drop the -ons, add -ant, and you get sifflant.
Is it more common to use sifflant or qui siffle in spoken French?