Learn French: Le tailleur coupe la moitié du tissu. - The tailor cuts half of the fabric.

Le tailleur coupe la moitié du tissu.

The tailor cuts half of the fabric.

Breakdown of Le tailleur coupe la moitié du tissu.

of the / from the (masculine singular, with plural des)

couper

to cut

le tissu

the fabric / the cloth

le tailleur

the tailor

Questions & Answers about Le tailleur coupe la moitié du tissu.

Why does the sentence use du instead of just de after la moitié?

The set phrase for 'half of' is la moitié de. Since the word for fabric is masculine (le tissu), the preposition de and the article le must contract into du. You are literally saying 'the half of the fabric.'

Could I use un demi instead of la moitié here?

No, to say 'half of' an object, you must use the noun la moitié. The word demi is primarily used as an adjective for specific measurements, such as un demi-litre (a half-liter) or when telling time, like une heure et demie (an hour and a half).

Tissu looks exactly like the English word 'tissue.' Does it mean a tissue you blow your nose with?

It is a false friend! In French, un tissu almost always means 'fabric', 'cloth', or 'material' used for making clothes. If you need a paper tissue for your nose, you should ask for un mouchoir or un mouchoir en papier.

How do I pronounce the double L in tailleur?

The combination -ill- in tailleur makes a 'y' sound, similar to the 'y' in the English word 'yes.' You do not pronounce a hard 'L' sound at all.