Learn Hardcore French: Le chat mange près de la fenêtre.

In French, mange is the present tense conjugation of manger for the third-person singular (il/elle/on). Manges is for tu (you), and mangent is for ils/elles (they). Here, Le chat (the cat) is a third-person singular subject, so we use mange.

Why do we say près de la fenêtre and not just près la fenêtre?

The phrase près de means near and always requires de before a noun. If the noun is feminine and starts with a consonant (like la fenêtre), we keep de la. If it started with a vowel or silent “h”, we might have d’ instead. You can’t drop the de after près in standard French usage.

What is the difference between près de la fenêtre and à côté de la fenêtre?

Both mean something is close to the window. Près de la fenêtre simply indicates near the window, while à côté de la fenêtre can suggest next to the window. They are often interchangeable, but à côté de can imply more direct adjacency.

Why do we use the definite article le with chat?

In French, nouns generally need an article even if the context is general or we’re talking about something as a concept. Here, le chat identifies the cat specifically. If you wanted to talk about a cat, you’d use un chat. But the sentence likely focuses on this particular cat.

Is fenêtre feminine or masculine, and why?

Fenêtre is a feminine noun in French, as indicated by la fenêtre. French nouns appear somewhat arbitrary in their gender assignments, and it’s something learners typically memorize. When you encounter a new noun, it’s best to learn it with the article.