Breakdown of Je regarde cette flaque, elle est toute petite.
Questions & Answers about Je regarde cette flaque, elle est toute petite.
Why is it toute petite instead of tout petite if tout is an adverb here?
Normally, adverbs do not change form. However, tout has a special rule: when it means "very" or "completely" and comes before a feminine adjective starting with a consonant (like petite), it must agree with the noun. Since flaque is feminine, the adverb becomes toute. I thought tout meant "all". Why is it translated as "very" here?
When tout is placed right before an adjective to modify it, it acts as an adverb. In this role, it no longer means "all"; instead, it means "very", "completely", or "quite". So toute petite simply means "very small". In English we say "look at", so why isn't there a word for "at" after regarde?
In French, the verb regarder translates to "to look at" or "to watch". The "at" is already built into the verb itself. Adding a preposition like à would be a mistake, so you connect it directly to the object: Je regarde cette flaque. Why does the sentence use elle? Does it mean the puddle is a "she"?
Grammatically speaking, yes! In French, all inanimate objects have a gender. Because the word for puddle (une flaque) is feminine, you must use the feminine pronoun elle to mean "it" when referring back to the puddle. Learn Je regarde cette flaque, elle est toute petite and more in French
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