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Marie a un téléphone portable dans son sac.

Marie a un téléphone portable dans son sac.
Marie has a cell phone in her bag.
FromLesson 4inHardcore French

Breakdown of Marie a un téléphone portable dans son sac.

Marie
Marie
avoir
to have
dans
in
le téléphone portable
the cell phone
le sac
the bag

Questions & Answers about Marie a un téléphone portable dans son sac.

What does a mean in the sentence Marie a un téléphone portable dans son sac?
The word a is the third-person singular form of the verb avoir (to have). So in this sentence, Marie a means Marie has.
Why is the article un used before téléphone portable?
Un is the masculine indefinite article in French, used before masculine nouns. Since téléphone portable is masculine, un must be used rather than une.
What does dans son sac mean?
It literally means in her bag. Dans means in, and son sac translates to her bag (since sac is masculine, we use son).
Why do we say son sac instead of sa sac?
In French, possessive adjectives (son, sa, ses) agree with the gender and number of the noun that follows. Sac is masculine, so we use son rather than sa (which is used before feminine nouns).
What is the difference between téléphone and téléphone portable?
Téléphone can mean any kind of telephone (residential, office, etc.), whereas téléphone portable specifically refers to a mobile or cell phone, emphasizing that it is portable.
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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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