Learn French: C'est cet homme dont l'épouse est toujours honnête. - It is this man whose wife is always honest.

C'est cet homme dont l'épouse est toujours honnête.

It is this man whose wife is always honest.

Breakdown of C'est cet homme dont l'épouse est toujours honnête.

Questions & Answers about C'est cet homme dont l'épouse est toujours honnête.

Why is there an l' before épouse? Doesn't dont already mean "whose"?

Yes, dont translates to "whose" here, but French structure is slightly different. In English, we drop the article and say "whose wife". In French, you must keep the definite article after dont. You are literally saying "whose the wife" (dont l'épouse).

How exactly does dont show possession in this sentence?

Dont replaces the word de (of) and the noun it refers to. If you split this into two sentences, it would be "C'est cet homme" (It is this man) and "L'épouse de cet homme est honnête" (The wife of this man is honest). Dont connects them by replacing "de cet homme".

Why do we use cet instead of ce for "this" man?

The demonstrative adjective for masculine nouns is usually ce (like ce garçon). However, because homme starts with a silent "h" and a vowel sound, ce changes to cet to make the pronunciation flow smoothly without a pause.

Could I say dont la femme instead of dont l'épouse?

Yes, you can! Femme is the most common word for "wife" (as well as "woman"). Épouse specifically means "spouse" or "wife" and sounds a little more formal, but both work perfectly here.