Breakdown of Une telle question est difficile.
Questions & Answers about Une telle question est difficile.
Why is it une telle question and not telle une question like in English ("such a question")?
In French, the article (un, une, or des) must come before tel or telle. You literally say "a such question", which is a common word-order trap for English speakers! Why does the word telle end in -le here?
Tel acts like an adjective, so it must agree in gender and number with the noun it modifies. Because question is a feminine singular noun, tel becomes telle. The current lesson is about si and tellement. Why use telle here instead of si?
We use un tel or une telle to express intensity ("such a") before a noun. You use si or tellement ("so") before an adjective or adverb. Because question is a noun, we need telle. If you wanted to say the question is "so difficult", you would use si: La question est si difficile. Could I use tellement and say une tellement question?
No, because tellement is an adverb and cannot modify a noun directly. To say "such a [noun]", you must use un tel or une telle. (You will see tellement de used for quantities, like tellement de questions for "so many questions", but never for "such a"). Learn Une telle question est difficile and more in French
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