Breakdown of Marie est une écrivaine magnifique.
être
to be
Marie
Marie
magnifique
wonderful
l'écrivaine
the writer
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Questions & Answers about Marie est une écrivaine magnifique.
Why do we use une instead of un?
Because Marie is a woman, and the noun écrivaine is the feminine form of écrivain, we need the feminine article une to agree in gender.
What is the difference between écrivain and écrivaine?
Historically, écrivain was used in most contexts. However, écrivaine is now widely accepted as the feminine form. It emphasizes that the person writing is female, aligning the noun’s form with the writer’s gender.
Should the adjective magnifique change form to agree with écrivaine?
No, magnifique has only one form and does not change for gender or number in French. So whether the writer is male or female or plural, magnifique remains spelled the same way.
Why don’t we say C’est une écrivaine magnifique instead?
You absolutely can. Both Marie est une écrivaine magnifique and C’est une écrivaine magnifique are correct. Using Marie est focuses more on identifying Marie specifically, while C’est is a more general way to say “She’s a magnificent writer.”
How should I pronounce écrivaine properly?
The word écrivaine is pronounced roughly like ay-kree-VAHN. The stress is on the final sound -vahn, but keep the nasal quality of the ain sound at the end.
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