Breakdown of L'oiseau intriguant le loup s'échappe.
le
him, it (masculine direct object pronoun)
l'oiseau
the bird (m)
le loup
the wolf
s'échapper
to escape
Questions & Answers about L'oiseau intriguant le loup s'échappe.
Why is intriguant spelled with a "u" here instead of intrigant?
In this sentence, intriguant is a present participle expressing an action, which we know because it takes a direct object (le loup). The present participle of intriguer keeps the "u" from the verb stem. If it were the verbal adjective meaning "scheming" or "intriguing" as a character trait, it would drop the "u" and be spelled intrigant.
If the subject were feminine, like La chouette (the owl), would intriguant become intriguante?
No, it would stay exactly the same. Because it is acting as a present participle (an action) rather than an adjective, it is invariable. It never changes to match the gender or number of the noun it relates to. If it were the verbal adjective instead, it would agree and be spelled intrigante (notice the dropped "u").
Is it common to use a present participle like intriguant in everyday conversation?
It is quite formal and mostly used in written French. In everyday speech, a French person would almost always rephrase this using qui plus a conjugated verb: L'oiseau qui intrigue le loup s'échappe.
Why does the verb échapper need to be reflexive (s'échappe) here?