Breakdown of Mon encens est apaisant, alors que le tien est trop fort.
être
to be
fort
strong
mon
my (mon, ma, mes)
le tien
yours (informal, masculine singular; also la tienne, les tiens, les tiennes)
trop
too, too much
alors que
whereas
l'encens
the incense (m)
apaisant
soothing
Questions & Answers about Mon encens est apaisant, alors que le tien est trop fort.
I know mon is used before feminine words starting with a vowel, so how can we tell the gender of encens just from this sentence?
Look at the other words agreeing with it! Both the adjective apaisant (not apaisante) and the possessive pronoun le tien (not la tienne) are masculine singular. This confirms that encens is a masculine noun.
Can I use tandis que instead of alors que here?
Yes! Both alors que and tandis que are used to express opposition or contrast, exactly like "whereas" in English. Just avoid pendant que, which strictly means "while" in a time-related sense and wouldn't fit this contrast.
Why do we need the word le before tien?
Is the final "s" in encens pronounced?
Generally, no. The standard pronunciation ends with a nasal vowel, sounding like "ahn-sahn." You might occasionally hear the "s" pronounced in specific regional accents, but keeping it silent is the standard rule.
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