Breakdown of La destruction du vieux pont est triste. On ne le traverse plus.
être
to be
on
one / we (informal)
de
of / from / any (in negative sentences) / about (concerning)
vieux
old
le pont
the bridge
traverser
to cross
le
him, it (masculine direct object pronoun)
ne... plus
(not) anymore / no longer
triste
sad
la destruction
the destruction
Questions & Answers about La destruction du vieux pont est triste. On ne le traverse plus.
How does nominalization work in the phrase la destruction du vieux pont?
This phrase transforms the verbal idea of destroying the old bridge (like saying On détruit le vieux pont) into a noun phrase. The verb détruire becomes the noun la destruction, and the direct object (le vieux pont) becomes a noun complement introduced by de. Since de + le contracts, we get du vieux pont.
Why is it vieux pont instead of pont vieux?
Vieux (old) is one of the common adjectives that go before the noun in French. You might remember the BANGS acronym (Beauty, Age, Number, Goodness, Size) from earlier lessons. Because vieux refers to Age, it precedes pont.
In the second sentence, what does le refer to, and why is its placement important?
The direct object pronoun le refers back to le vieux pont. In French, object pronouns are placed directly before the conjugated verb they belong to, which is why we say On ne le traverse plus rather than placing it at the end like we do in English.
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