Learn French: Cette écorce sèche est utile pour le feu. - This dry bark is useful for the fire.

Cette écorce sèche est utile pour le feu.

This dry bark is useful for the fire.

Breakdown of Cette écorce sèche est utile pour le feu.

the traffic light / the fire

Questions & Answers about Cette écorce sèche est utile pour le feu.

Why is the feminine of sec spelled sèche instead of adding an -e or using -que?

The masculine adjective sec (dry) has a highly irregular feminine form: sèche. It is a major exception to the usual rule where words ending in -c change to -que (like public becoming publique). You simply have to memorize this one!

Does the word écorce only refer to the bark of a tree?

It primarily means tree bark, but it is also commonly used for the rind or peel of citrus fruits (like oranges or lemons), and metaphorically to describe someone's tough outward personality or appearance.

We use utile pour here. Could we also say utile au feu?

Utile pour is the most natural choice here. You generally use utile pour before a specific purpose, goal, or an infinitive verb. You use utile à mostly when pointing out who or what entity benefits from something, such as utile à la société (useful to society).

Given our current lesson, is there a pronominal verb related to sèche?

Yes! While sèche is just an adjective here, it shares a root with the verb sécher (to dry). You will often see the pronominal verb se sécher, which literally means to dry oneself (for example, with a towel after a shower). It retains its literal meaning, unlike some of the trickier idiomatic pronominal verbs in this unit.