Question 1

This lesson is about cependant and pourtant. How could I rewrite this sentence using them instead of mais?

Accepted Answer

You can easily swap mais (but) for cependant (however) or pourtant (yet/even so) to make the contrast a bit stronger or more formal. When using them, you usually split the clauses with a semicolon or period rather than a comma: Le climat est difficile ; l'espèce s'adapte pourtant. or Le climat est difficile. Cependant, l'espèce s'adapte.

Question 2

Why is it s'adapte (reflexive) instead of just adapte?

Accepted Answer

In French, when a subject adapts itself to a new situation or environment, you must use the reflexive verb s'adapter. If you used the non-reflexive adapter, the sentence would feel incomplete because it would need a direct object (like adapting a tool, or adapting a book into a movie).

Question 3

The English translation is "species". Why isn't there an s at the end of espèce?

Accepted Answer

In English, the word "species" happens to end in an "s" whether it is singular or plural. French just follows its normal noun rules here: the singular is une espèce (no s) and the plural is des espèces. Since the sentence talks about one specific species, it is singular.

Question 4

How do I know the gender of l'espèce since the article is shortened to l'?

Accepted Answer

It is feminine (une espèce). Because it starts with a vowel, la drops its "a" and becomes l'. Even though there isn't an adjective attached to it in this specific sentence to give you a hint, it's a great word to memorize as feminine because it's a very common noun at this level!

Le climat est difficile, mais l'espèce s'adapte.

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