Learn French: Elle coupe le concombre avec un couteau. - She cuts the cucumber with a knife.

Elle coupe le concombre avec un couteau.

She cuts the cucumber with a knife.

Breakdown of Elle coupe le concombre avec un couteau.

Questions & Answers about Elle coupe le concombre avec un couteau.

Since concombre ends in an "-e", shouldn't it be feminine?

You might expect that, as many French words ending in "-e" are feminine. However, concombre is a common exception and is strictly masculine, which is why we use le. It is just one of those words you have to memorize!

Does Elle coupe translate to "She cuts" or "She is cutting"?

It translates to both! French does not have a separate continuous present tense like English does. Depending on the context, Elle coupe can mean she cuts cucumbers generally, or she is actively cutting one right now.

If she were using multiple knives, how would I make couteau plural?

Words ending in -eau usually take an -x instead of an -s for their plural form. So, "with knives" would be avec des couteaux.

Why do we use avec here instead of par to say she is cutting it "by" a knife?

When you are talking about the tool or instrument used to complete an action (like a knife, a hammer, or a pen), you always use avec (with) in French. You use par (by) when talking about the person or agent actually doing the action, such as in a passive sentence.