L’auto-relevé contient l’index de consommation.

Because auto-relevé is a masculine singular noun, so its basic article is le. But French drops the vowel in le before a word that begins with a vowel sound, and replaces it with an apostrophe:

• le + auto-relevé → l’auto-relevé

This is called elision. The same thing happens with la before a vowel sound too:

• l’auto-relevé
• l’index

It is masculine in this sentence, which is why it would be le auto-relevé before elision, and therefore l’auto-relevé.

You can also see that the past participle part relevé ends in -é, not -ée, which is another clue that the form here is masculine.

Grammatically, auto-relevé is a noun. It refers to a meter reading taken by the user themself rather than by a technician.

The prefix auto- means something like self- or done by oneself, and relevé comes from the idea of a reading or recorded measurement.

So even if the overall meaning is already given, it helps to know that French is using a single noun here, not a whole phrase like self-recorded meter reading.

French often uses a hyphen with words formed using prefixes like auto-, especially in technical, administrative, or standard written language.

So auto-relevé is written as one hyphenated unit. This is normal spelling, not optional punctuation.

Contient comes from the verb contenir, which means to contain.

In this sentence, contient is:

• present tense
• third person singular

So:

• je contiens = I contain
• tu contiens = you contain
• il/elle/on contient = he/she/it contains

Here the subject is l’auto-relevé, which is singular, so French uses contient.

Because contient is the form used with il / elle / on and with singular nouns.

The subject here is l’auto-relevé, which is a singular thing, so French uses the same verb form it would use with il or elle:

• L’auto-relevé contient...

By contrast:

• je contiens = I contain
• tu contiens = you contain

So the spelling changes depending on the subject.

No, the final -ent is not pronounced here.

Contient is pronounced roughly like con-tyan with a nasal vowel at the end. The ti here sounds like ty before the vowel sound.

A useful reminder:

• In many French verb forms, final -ent is silent.

Yes, index is a French word. In technical and administrative contexts, it often means a reading, indicator, or index value.

In utility contexts, l’index can refer to the number shown on a meter.

So although English speakers may think first of index as the back-of-the-book list or the pointing finger, in French it can also be used for readings and reference values.

This is mostly a matter of standard usage in utility and meter-reading language.

In this context:

• auto-relevé = the self-taken meter reading / self-report
• index de consommation = the consumption meter value / consumption reading

French administrative language often prefers the established technical term, even if it sounds a bit formal or specialized.

Because de consommation is being used to describe the type or function of the index.

French often uses de + noun without an article when the second noun works like a qualifier:

• un ticket de caisse
• une salle de bain
• un compteur d’eau
• un index de consommation

Here, consommation is not being presented as a specific, already-identified consumption. It is more like a category: consumption index.

If you said de la consommation, it would sound more like of the consumption, which is less natural in this kind of technical label.

Because index is a specific noun functioning as the direct object of the verb contient:

• L’auto-relevé = the subject
• contient = the verb
• l’index de consommation = the object

French usually needs an article before countable nouns in cases like this, where English might sometimes omit one in labels or technical wording.

The structure is very straightforward:

• L’auto-relevé = subject
• contient = verb
• l’index de consommation = direct object

So it follows a normal subject + verb + object pattern, just like English:

• The self-reading contains the consumption index

This makes the sentence grammatically simple even if the vocabulary is specialized.

Yes, that would be possible in many contexts.

Both contenir and comprendre can mean something like to contain / include. The exact choice depends on style and context:

• contient emphasizes that it contains something
• comprend emphasizes that it includes something

In administrative or technical writing, either may appear, but contient is perfectly natural here.

You cannot tell from this sentence alone just by looking at de consommation, because there is no visible article or adjective showing agreement.

You simply need to know the noun:

• la consommation = consumption

So consommation is feminine, even though that femininity is not visible here.

It sounds more administrative / technical than conversational.

Words like auto-relevé and index de consommation are common in utility bills, customer portals, instructions, and official forms. A native speaker would understand it, but it is not especially casual everyday speech.

In ordinary conversation, people might use more familiar wording depending on the situation.