Breakdown of Le noyau est rempli de liquide.
être
to be
de
of / from / any (in negative sentences) / about (concerning)
remplir
to fill out / to fill (a container)
le liquide
the liquid
le noyau
the nucleus
Questions & Answers about Le noyau est rempli de liquide.
Why do we use de instead of par in this passive sentence?
In French passive sentences, the agent (what performs the action) is usually introduced by par. However, for verbs describing states of being, conditions, or emotions (like being filled, covered, or loved), we use de. Because rempli describes a state rather than a specific action performed by a deliberate actor, it takes de.
Why is it just de liquide and not du liquide?
When using verbs or adjectives of filling and covering (like être rempli de or être couvert de), the partitive article (du, de la, des) is typically dropped when referring to a general, uncountable substance. Therefore, "filled with liquid" is translated simply as rempli de liquide.
Is noyau strictly a scientific word for "nucleus"?
Does rempli have to agree with the subject here?
Yes. Because this is a passive construction using the auxiliary verb être, the past participle rempli acts like an adjective and must agree in gender and number with the subject. Since le noyau is masculine singular, it takes no extra endings. If the subject were feminine, like la bouteille (the bottle), it would be est remplie.
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