Breakdown of C'est dans cet arbre que la chouette pond ses œufs.
l'arbre
the tree (m)
dans
in, inside
ce
this (before a noun)
son
his/her/its (son, sa, ses)
l'œuf
the egg (m)
c'est
it is, that is
que
that (introducing a clause)
la chouette
the owl
pondre
to lay eggs
Questions & Answers about C'est dans cet arbre que la chouette pond ses œufs.
Since dans cet arbre refers to a place, why do we use que instead of où?
This is a prepositional cleft sentence used for emphasis. The structure is c'est + prepositional phrase + que. Because the preposition dans is already included in the emphasized part (C'est dans cet arbre), the relative pronoun that connects the rest of the sentence must be the neutral que. If you used où, you would be grammatically repeating the idea of location.
Why is the demonstrative adjective cet arbre instead of ce arbre?
The verb pondre means to lay eggs. Is it used in any other contexts?
Literally, it is strictly for animals laying eggs. But at an intermediate to advanced level, it is very useful to know its figurative, informal meaning: to produce or churn out something, often with some effort. For example, a student might complain about having to pondre une dissertation (churn out an essay).
How does the pronunciation of œufs change in the plural?
When singular (un œuf), the final f is pronounced. But in the plural (des œufs or ses œufs), the f becomes completely silent. You only pronounce the vowel, which sounds similar to the vowel in the English word her. In this sentence, you must also make a spoken link (liaison) with the s in ses, making it sound like sez-eu.
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