Learn French: Ce gamin joue dans la rue. - This kid is playing in the street.

Ce gamin joue dans la rue.

This kid is playing in the street.

Breakdown of Ce gamin joue dans la rue.

Questions & Answers about Ce gamin joue dans la rue.

Is gamin a common word for "child"?

Yes, it's a very common, everyday word for a child, exactly like "kid" in English. It's informal, so in formal situations or writing, you would use enfant.

The translation says "is playing". Why isn't there a French word for "is" here?

French doesn't use a separate "is doing" tense. The present tense verb joue covers both "plays" and "is playing". If you absolutely must emphasize that it's happening right now, you would use the expression est en train de jouer, but the simple present is usually enough.

Why is it ce gamin and not cet gamin?

Ce is the standard masculine singular word for "this" or "that". You only switch to cet if the masculine noun starts with a vowel or a silent 'h' to make pronunciation smoother (like cet homme). Since gamin starts with a consonant, it stays ce.

Why do we say dans la rue instead of sur la rue?

In French, you are always dans la rue (literally "in the street"). French treats the street as a three-dimensional space enclosed by buildings, so you are inside it, even if English speakers might sometimes say "on the street".