Retenue can have several meanings in French, so context matters a lot.
Common meanings include:
In this sentence, because it is paired with caution, it most likely has a financial or administrative meaning such as deduction or withholding, not self-restraint.
Usually, no. This is an important false friend.
French caution often means:
It usually does not mean English caution in the sense of carefulness or warning.
So a learner should be careful not to assume the English meaning automatically.
Because in French, a conjugated verb does not agree in gender with its subject.
So even though retenue is feminine, the present-tense verb stays:
You would only see gender agreement on things like:
But not on a normal present-tense verb like réduit.
The accent in réduit is part of the word’s normal spelling, inherited from the verb réduire.
That é helps show the correct vowel sound at the beginning of the word, pronounced like ray in a rough English approximation.
So the accent is not optional; it is part of the correct spelling.
Definitely. Both key nouns are somewhat context-dependent.
Possible interpretations include things like:
So even if the basic grammar is simple, the exact translation can change depending on whether the context is: