Breakdown of L'Amérique du Nord et l'Amérique du Sud ont été découvertes par l'explorateur.
être
to be
et
and
avoir
to have
découvrir
to discover
par
by, through / out of (motive)
l'explorateur
the explorer (m)
l'Amérique du Nord
the North America (f)
l'Amérique du Sud
the South America (f)
Questions & Answers about L'Amérique du Nord et l'Amérique du Sud ont été découvertes par l'explorateur.
Why do we repeat l'Amérique instead of just saying l'Amérique du Nord et du Sud?
In French, it is necessary to repeat the noun and its definite article when referring to two distinct entities, even if they share the same base noun. English easily drops the first 'America' in 'North and South America', but doing that in French sounds unnatural because they are distinct continents.
Why does the past participle découvertes end in -es?
This sentence is in the passive voice, which is formed with the verb être (here as ont été). When using être, the past participle must agree in gender and number with the subject. The subject here is L'Amérique du Nord et l'Amérique du Sud. Because Amérique is feminine and there are two of them, the subject is feminine plural, requiring the -es ending.
Why do we use par for 'by' here instead of de?
In passive sentences, par is used when a specific physical action is carried out by a specific agent, such as an explorer discovering a continent. You would use de instead if the verb described an emotion, a state of being, or a general appreciation (for example, being loved or respected by someone).
What is the infinitive of découvertes and is it irregular?
The infinitive is découvrir (to discover). It belongs to a group of irregular verbs ending in -vrir or -frir, like ouvrir (to open) and offrir (to offer). Their past participles always end in -ert, so découvrir becomes découvert before any feminine or plural agreement is added.
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