Je travaille avec mon collègue.

I work with my colleague.

Breakdown of Je travaille avec mon collègue.

• je: I
• mon: my
• avec: with
• travailler: to work
• le collègue: the colleague

Questions & Answers about Je travaille avec mon collègue.

What is the overall structure of the sentence Je travaille avec mon collègue?

The sentence follows a Subject + Verb + Prepositional Phrase pattern. Je is the subject (“I”), travaille is the first-person singular present form of the verb travailler (“to work”), and avec mon collègue is a prepositional phrase meaning “with my colleague.”

How is the verb travailler conjugated in this sentence, and what does that tell us about the subject?

The verb is conjugated as travaille, which is the first-person singular present tense form. This tells us that the subject Je (“I”) is performing the action, and the form follows the regular -er verb conjugation pattern in French.

What role does the preposition avec play in this sentence?

Avec means “with” in English and is used here to indicate accompaniment or association. It connects the action of working to the person with whom the speaker works, i.e., mon collègue (“my colleague”).

Why is the possessive adjective mon used with collègue instead of ma?

In French, the possessive adjective must agree with the gender (and sometimes the initial sound) of the noun it modifies. Collègue is a common gender noun that, when referring to a male colleague, takes the masculine form mon. If you were referring to a female colleague, you would normally use ma collègue unless a specific phonetic rule applies (for words beginning with a vowel sound).

Could the sentence be rearranged and still be grammatically correct or natural in French?

While French, like English, generally uses the Subject-Verb-Prepositional phrase order for clear communication, minor rearrangements for emphasis are possible. However, for a simple statement like this one, Je travaille avec mon collègue is both natural and the most straightforward way to express the idea.

Are there any pronunciation tips for the word collègue that I should be aware of?

Yes, pay attention to the accent grave on the è in collègue. This accent changes the pronunciation of the letter to a more open eh sound. Practicing the word as koh-lehg can help ensure you’re saying it correctly.