La maison de Paul est loin.

to be

Breakdown of La maison de Paul est loin.

• Paul: Paul
• la maison: the house
• de: of
• loin: far

Questions & Answers about La maison de Paul est loin.

Why do we say La maison (feminine) and not Le maison?

In French, maison (house) is a feminine noun, so we must use the feminine article la instead of the masculine le.

Why is it de Paul and not du Paul?

When indicating possession with a proper name, French uses de followed by the name. Because Paul is a specific person’s name, you only need de + Paul, not du—which is a contraction of de + le, and would be used before a masculine article instead of a name.

How does est loin function in the sentence?

Est (from the verb être) means “is,” and loin means “far” or “far away.” Together, est loin conveys the idea that the house’s location is distant.

Can I say La maison de Paul est loin de… to indicate distance from something else?

Yes. If you want to specify what it’s far from, you would add de plus a reference point, for example: La maison de Paul est loin de l’école (“Paul’s house is far from the school”).

Is there a specific pronunciation issue I should be aware of with loin?

Yes, loin can be tricky for English speakers because of the nasal sound at the end. Make sure to open your mouth for the oi (like “wah” in English) and let the n remain nasal instead of pronouncing it fully.