Breakdown of Ce que je trouve difficile, c'est de prononcer cette voyelle.
je
I
difficile
difficult
ce
this (before a noun)
trouver
to find
c'est
it is, that is
ce que
what (object)
de
to (introducing an infinitive after a verb)
prononcer
to pronounce
la voyelle
the vowel
Questions & Answers about Ce que je trouve difficile, c'est de prononcer cette voyelle.
Why do we use ce que instead of ce qui here?
Ce que (meaning "what" or "the thing that") is used because it acts as the direct object of the verb trouve — it represents the thing you are finding difficult. If "what" were the subject performing an action (for example, "What is difficult..."), you would use ce qui instead (Ce qui est difficile...).
Why is there a c'est in the middle of the sentence instead of just est?
Why do we need the preposition de before prononcer?
When you use c'est followed by an infinitive to define or explain what something is (as we do here to specify the difficult thing), French requires the preposition de before that infinitive. Saying c'est prononcer without the de would be grammatically incorrect here.
Why is there no word for "it" after trouve, like in the English "find IT difficult"?
Because the "it" (the thing you find difficult) is already represented by ce que at the very beginning of the sentence. The French structure trouver [quelque chose] [adjectif] is split here, so the adjective difficile simply attaches directly to the verb.
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