Learn French: Tu as coupé la corde avec le canif. - You cut the rope with the pocketknife.

Tu as coupé la corde avec le canif.

You cut the rope with the pocketknife.

Breakdown of Tu as coupé la corde avec le canif.

you (informal singular)

Questions & Answers about Tu as coupé la corde avec le canif.

Why is the auxiliary as (avoir) used here, when the current lesson is about pronominal verbs like se couper which take être?

In this sentence, couper (to cut) is used as a standard active verb acting on a direct object (la corde), so it takes the auxiliary avoir. You only use être when the verb is pronominal, meaning the subject is performing the action on itself, such as Tu t'es coupé (You cut yourself).

Is a canif just another word for a couteau?

They are related, but not exact synonyms. A couteau is the general term for any kind of knife, such as a kitchen knife or a butter knife. A canif specifically refers to a small, folding pocketknife or penknife.

Could I use par instead of avec to translate "with" the pocketknife?

No, when you are talking about the physical tool or instrument used to perform a specific action, you must use avec. Par is generally used to indicate the agent in a passive sentence (meaning "by") or a method of delivery, like par avion.

Since the lesson covers idiomatic meaning shifts, does se couper have an idiomatic meaning that contrasts with this sentence?