Learn French: C'est la maison où j'habite. En revanche, l'isolation est un problème. - This is the house where I live. On the other hand, the insulation is a problem.

Word

C'est la maison où j'habite. En revanche, l'isolation est un problème.

Meaning

This is the house where I live. On the other hand, the insulation is a problem.

Part of speech

sentence

Pronunciation

Course

French

Lesson

Contrast markers (par contre, en revanche)

Breakdown of C'est la maison où j'habite. En revanche, l'isolation est un problème.

Questions & Answers about C'est la maison où j'habite. En revanche, l'isolation est un problème.

What is the difference between en revanche and par contre in this sentence?

Both mean "on the other hand" or "however," and you could use either one here to contrast the house with its insulation problem. En revanche is just considered a bit more elegant and formal, while par contre is more common in everyday spoken French.

Does isolation mean the house is in a remote location?

No, this is a classic false friend! In the context of a house, l'isolation means "insulation" (keeping the heat in or out). If you wanted to say the house is remote or far from neighbors, you would use the adjective isolée.

Why does the sentence start with C'est instead of Elle est, since maison is feminine?

You use c'est because it is followed by a determiner and a noun (la maison). You would only use elle est if it were followed directly by an adjective to describe the house, such as elle est grande (it is big).

Could I say où j'y habite to mean "where I live in it"?

No, you do not need the pronoun y here. The word où (where) already links the place to the action of living. Adding y would be repetitive, like saying "the house where I live there" in English.