Breakdown of Il est assez intelligent pour réussir la sélection en biologie.
être
to be
il
he
intelligent
intelligent / smart
pour
for
en
in, to
réussir
to succeed
le
him, it (masculine direct object pronoun)
assez
enough, quite
la sélection
the selection
la biologie
the biology
Questions & Answers about Il est assez intelligent pour réussir la sélection en biologie.
Why is it assez intelligent when in English we say 'smart enough'?
In French, adverbs of degree like assez (enough) and trop (too) always come before the adjective or adverb they modify. Even though English puts the word 'enough' after the adjective, French strictly keeps assez in front of it.
Why do we use pour before réussir here?
This highlights the core structure of your lesson: assez + [adjective] + pour + [infinitive]. To say someone is 'enough' of something to do an action, French uses the preposition pour to connect the description to that resulting action.
Doesn't réussir usually take a preposition? Why is it just réussir la sélection?
When réussir means passing a test, exam, or specific selection process, it takes a direct object without any preposition. You only need the preposition à when it is followed by an infinitive verb (like réussir à entrer which means 'to succeed in entering').
Why use en biologie instead of dans la biologie?
The preposition en is the standard choice before academic subjects, disciplines, or fields of study to mean 'in the field of'. Using dans is generally reserved for physical spaces or specific situations.
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