L'ordinateur ne fonctionne pas.

The computer does not work.

Breakdown of L'ordinateur ne fonctionne pas.

• ne ... pas: not
• l'ordinateur: the computer
• fonctionner: to function

Questions & Answers about L'ordinateur ne fonctionne pas.

Why is it L’ordinateur instead of Le ordinateur?

In French, when a word starting with a vowel (like ordinateur, which starts with o) follows the article le or la, the vowel from the article is dropped and replaced with an apostrophe for ease of pronunciation. Therefore, Le ordinateur becomes L’ordinateur.

Is ordinateur masculine or feminine in French?

The noun ordinateur is masculine in French, so it takes the masculine article le, which then becomes l’ before a vowel.

How do we form a negative sentence in French with ne ... pas?

To create a negative sentence in French, place ne (or n’ before a vowel) before the verb and pas after the verb. In this sentence, fonctionne is the verb, so we say: L’ordinateur ne fonctionne pas (“The computer does not work”).

Could we say L’ordinateur ne marche pas instead?

Yes, you could. Marcher can also mean “to work” in the sense of functioning properly, especially in an informal context. Both fonctionne and marche are widely used, though fonctionner is slightly more formal or technical.