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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 La table est petite.
Why is la used instead of le?
In French, table is a feminine noun, so it takes the feminine definite article la. Masculine nouns would take le instead.
Why do we use petite instead of petit?
Because table is a feminine noun, the adjective must agree in gender. The feminine form of petit is petite, with the extra -e at the end.
What does est mean in this sentence?
Est is the third-person singular present tense form of the verb être (to be). It translates to is in English, so la table est petite means the table is small.
Why is the adjective placed after est?
In French, when saying something is an adjective, the structure is subject + form of être + adjective. So it naturally comes after the verb est.
Could we say la petite table instead?
Yes, but it would have a slightly different meaning. La table est petite states that the table is small as a trait, while la petite table simply describes the table as the small table as part of its identity. Both forms are grammatically correct, but they’re used in slightly different contexts.