Learn French: J'hésite parce que ce n'est pas authentique. - I hesitate because it is not authentic.

J'hésite parce que ce n'est pas authentique.

I hesitate because it is not authentic.

Breakdown of J'hésite parce que ce n'est pas authentique.

être

to be

it / this (with être)

not (used before the verb)

pas

not (used after the verb)

Questions & Answers about J'hésite parce que ce n'est pas authentique.

The current lesson teaches puisque (since). Why does this sentence use parce que instead?

You use parce que to introduce a new reason that the listener might not know yet. It directly answers the question "why?". If you used puisque, it would imply the listener already knows the item is not authentic, communicating "Since it's not authentic (as we both already know), I am hesitating."

Why use ce n'est pas instead of il n'est pas for "it is not"?

When describing a general situation, concept, or an unnamed object, French uses c'est (and its negative ce n'est pas) followed by a masculine adjective. You would only use il n'est pas if you were referring back to a specific masculine noun mentioned earlier, like le document (the document).

Can j'hésite also translate to "I am hesitating"?

Yes! French uses the standard present tense for both general facts and actions happening right now. Depending on the context, j'hésite means either "I hesitate" or "I am hesitating".

Why doesn't que shorten to qu' before ce?

In French, you only drop the e and add an apostrophe (a process called elision) when the following word begins with a vowel or a silent h. Because ce starts with a consonant, que remains unchanged.