La maison a une fenêtre près du jardin.

The house has a window near the garden.

Breakdown of La maison a une fenêtre près du jardin.

• avoir: to have
• la maison: the house
• le jardin: the garden
• la fenêtre: the window
• près de: near

Questions & Answers about La maison a une fenêtre près du jardin.

Why is la used before maison instead of le or un?

La is used because maison is a feminine noun in French. Definite articles agree in gender and number with the noun they modify, so the feminine article la is needed here rather than le (masculine) or un (masculine indefinite article).

Why do we say a (from avoir) instead of est (from être) in this sentence?

In French, a (from the verb avoir) means has and indicates possession or ownership, which fits the idea that the house has a window. Est (from être) means is and would be used to describe or identify something rather than indicating possession.

Why is it une fenêtre and not un fenêtre?

Just like maison, the noun fenêtre (window) is also feminine, so it requires the feminine indefinite article une.

What does près du mean, and why isn’t it près de le?

Près de means near in French. When it is followed by the masculine article le, the words contract to become du. So instead of près de le jardin, it becomes près du jardin.

Why is du used here rather than des?

Du is the contracted form of de + le, used with singular masculine nouns (like jardin). Des is used for plural nouns (for example, près des fenêtres would mean near the windows). In this sentence, jardin is singular and masculine, so du is correct.

Could I say La maison est près du jardin to convey a similar idea?

You could say that to express The house is near the garden. However, that would remove the idea of the house having a window near the garden. The original sentence focuses on the house possessing a window that is located near the garden.