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“How does grammatical gender work in French?”
Every French noun is either masculine or feminine, and this affects the articles and adjectives used with it. "Le" is used with masculine nouns and "la" with feminine ones. Adjectives also change form to match — for example, "petit" (masc.) becomes "petite" (fem.).
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Questions & Answers about Mon frère est grand.
Why do we use Mon instead of Ma?
In French, mon is the masculine singular possessive adjective. Because frère (brother) is a masculine noun, it must be paired with mon rather than ma, which is used for feminine nouns.
Why do we say grand and not grande?
In French, adjectives typically agree in gender and number with the noun they describe. Since frère is masculine singular, we use the masculine singular form grand. The form grande is for feminine singular nouns (e.g., ma sœur est grande).
Does grand mean tall or big in French?
Grand can mean both tall and big, depending on the context. When referring to a person’s height, it usually means tall. For objects or non-human things, it often translates to big. In this sentence about a brother, it means tall.
Why is the verb est used here?
Est is the third-person singular form of the verb être (to be). Since we’re describing the brother (he), we use il est → he is. In the sentence, to say “My brother is tall,” we use Mon frère est grand.
How would I say My brother is very tall in French?
You would add très (very) before grand: Mon frère est très grand. This indicates a higher degree of tallness.