Breakdown of Le noyau est parsemé de trous et entouré de fibres.
être
to be
et
and
de
of / from / any (in negative sentences) / about (concerning)
le trou
the hole
entourer
to surround
le noyau
the nucleus
parsemer
to dot
la fibre
the fiber
Questions & Answers about Le noyau est parsemé de trous et entouré de fibres.
Why does this sentence use de instead of par to introduce the passive agents?
In French, the passive voice usually uses par to introduce the agent doing the action. However, when the verb describes a state, condition, or physical description rather than a dynamic action, you use de. Here, parsemé and entouré describe the permanent state of the nucleus, so they require de.
Why is it de trous and not des trous?
When the passive agent is introduced by the preposition de, and the noun following it is a general plural (meaning holes in general, not specific holes), the plural indefinite article des is omitted. You just use de followed directly by the noun. If we were talking about specific, previously mentioned fibers, it would become des fibres because it would be a contraction of the preposition de and the definite article les.
What kind of word is parsemé?
Parsemé is the past participle of the verb parsemer, which means to strew, scatter, or sprinkle. Used in the passive voice with de, it translates perfectly to dotted with or scattered with. You will often see it in descriptive French, like a sky dotted with stars (un ciel parsemé d'étoiles).
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