Marie crée un doublon quand elle duplique le fichier.

Crée comes from the verb créer = to create.

In this sentence, crée is the third-person singular present tense form:

• je crée
• tu crées
• il / elle crée

The accent is part of the normal spelling of the verb créer. It helps show the pronunciation and distinguishes it from forms of other verbs.

Un doublon means a duplicate, especially in contexts like:

• files
• records
• databases
• administrative documents

It is more specific than une copie. A doublon often suggests that there are now two identical versions of something, sometimes unnecessarily.

So in a computer context, un doublon is a very natural word for a duplicate file or duplicate entry.

French usually avoids repeating the noun when the subject stays the same. So after Marie, it is natural to use the subject pronoun elle:

• Marie crée un doublon quand elle duplique le fichier.

This works just like English:

• Marie creates a duplicate when she duplicates the file.

Repeating Marie would sound heavy and unnatural.

Here, quand means when.

It introduces the time clause:

• quand elle duplique le fichier = when she duplicates the file

In a sentence like this, quand can also have a more general sense like whenever, especially because both verbs are in the present tense.

So the sentence can feel like:

• Marie creates a duplicate whenever she duplicates the file.

French often uses the present tense to talk about:

• general truths
• habits
• repeated actions
• instructions or process descriptions

So this sentence is not necessarily about what Marie is doing right now. It can mean something like:

• This is what happens when Marie duplicates the file.
• Whenever she duplicates the file, she creates a duplicate.

That is why crée and duplique are both in the present.

Both can relate to making a copy, but they are not always exactly the same.

• dupliquer = to duplicate
• copier = to copy

Dupliquer often sounds more technical or more exact, especially in computing. It suggests creating another version of the same item.

Copier is broader and more general. For example, it can mean:

• copying a file
• copying text
• copying someone’s homework
• imitating someone

In this sentence, duplique le fichier is very natural because it is about making a duplicate of a file.

Le fichier means the file, so it refers to a specific file that is already known from the context.

• le fichier = the file
• un fichier = a file

If you said un fichier, it would mean any file or a file not yet identified.
Here, le fichier suggests that the speaker and listener already know which file is being discussed.

A simple pronunciation guide:

• crée sounds roughly like kray
• duplique sounds roughly like dew-pleek

A few notes:

• In crée, the final e is not strongly pronounced.
• In duplique, the stress is not as strong as in English; French rhythm is flatter and more even.

The whole sentence is pronounced smoothly, with no strong stress on one word the way English often does.

Yes, it is very close to English structure:

• Marie = subject
• crée = verb
• un doublon = object
• quand elle duplique le fichier = time clause

So the pattern is:

Subject + verb + object + when-clause

That makes this sentence fairly easy for an English speaker to follow.

Yes. A possible alternative is lorsque:

• Marie crée un doublon lorsqu’elle duplique le fichier.

This also means when.

The difference is mostly style:

• quand is very common and everyday
• lorsque is a little more formal or written

Before elle, lorsque becomes lorsqu’elle because of elision.

Un doublon means a duplicate, so it introduces the result as a new item.

• un doublon = a duplicate
• le doublon = the duplicate

Here, the sentence is saying that the action creates a duplicate, not referring to one already identified. That is why the indefinite article un is used.