Learn French: Une femme est là.

Une femme est là.

A woman is there.

Breakdown of Une femme est là.

Questions & Answers about Une femme est là.

Why do we use "une" instead of "un" at the beginning of this sentence?

In French, all nouns have a gender. Because femme (woman) is a feminine noun, we must use the feminine word for "a" or "an", which is une. If we were talking about a man, we would use the masculine article un, as in un homme.

Why is "femme" pronounced with an "a" sound when it is spelled with an "e"?

Femme is one of the most famous pronunciation exceptions in French! Even though it is spelled with an "e", the first syllable sounds exactly as if it were spelled with an "a". You just have to memorize this special pronunciation.

Why does the word "là" have an accent mark on the "a"?

The little line over the "a" is called a grave accent. It does not change how the word sounds, but it tells words apart! With the accent, là means "there" or "here". Without the accent, la is the feminine word for "the".

I have seen "là" translated as "here" before. Does it mean "here" or "there"?

It can mean both! While the French word ici strictly means "here", everyday French uses là broadly to mean someone or something is present. In this sentence, it tells us the woman is present, which translates to "there" or "here" depending on where the speaker is.