Learn French: Ce projet académique exige une méthode rigoureuse. - This academic project requires a rigorous method.

Ce means "this" or "that" for masculine singular nouns. You only use cet before a masculine noun that starts with a vowel or a mute H (like cet arbre). Since projet starts with a consonant, it takes ce.

What is the base verb for exige, and how is it used?

The verb is exiger, which means "to require" or "to strongly demand." Here it is followed directly by a noun (une méthode). Just keep in mind for later that if you use it with a verb phrase, like "requires that we do something", it will trigger the subjunctive mood.

Why are académique and rigoureuse placed after their nouns?

In French, most adjectives are placed after the noun they describe. This is especially true for classifying adjectives (like académique) and adjectives that are longer than the noun itself (like rigoureuse). Only a specific list of common, short adjectives (often describing Beauty, Age, Goodness, or Size) usually go before the noun.

Why does rigoureuse end in "-euse"?

It is agreeing with the feminine singular noun une méthode. The masculine form of this adjective is rigoureux. Adjectives ending in -eux regularly change to -euse to become feminine.