Learn Hardcore French: La détermination est importante pour réussir.

In French, détermination is a feminine noun. Most nouns ending in -tion, like nation, application, or situation, are feminine, so they take the article la.

Why do we use est instead of something like c’est?

We’re simply stating that détermination (the subject) is important, so we use est (the third-person singular of être) right after the noun. C’est would also be acceptable for a slightly different style (like C’est important, la détermination), but here the sentence focuses more directly on la détermination as the subject.

Why do we say pour réussir rather than à réussir?

In French, pour + infinitive expresses the purpose or goal of something (in English, “in order to”). À + infinitive often serves a different function, such as indicating a following action or linking certain verbs to their infinitives. In this context, “to succeed” is the purpose of having determination, so pour réussir is correct.

Should we pronounce the final t in important?

No. In French, final consonants are typically not pronounced unless followed by a liaison with a vowel sound. So you would pronounce importan (stopping at the nasal sound of an), not important with a pronounced t.