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La voiture a un frein noir.

La voiture a un frein noir.
The car has a black brake.
FromLesson 12inHardcore French

Breakdown of La voiture a un frein noir.

noir
black
avoir
to have
la voiture
the car
le frein
the brake

Questions & Answers about La voiture a un frein noir.

Why is the definite article la used with voiture, and what does it indicate about the noun?
In French, every noun has a gender. Voiture (meaning "car") is a feminine noun, so it takes the feminine definite article la. This tells us that the noun is feminine and that we're referring to a specific car.
What does the verb a represent in this sentence, and why is it used here?
The verb a is the third person singular form of the verb avoir, which means "to have." In this sentence, it translates to "has" and shows possession—telling us that the car possesses or is equipped with something, in this case, a brake.
Why is the indefinite article un used with frein instead of une?
Frein is a masculine noun in French. Therefore, the indefinite article that accompanies it must also be masculine. Un is used with masculine nouns, while une would be used with feminine ones.
How does the adjective noir agree with the noun frein in this sentence?
In French, adjectives must match the noun they describe in both gender and number. Since frein is a masculine singular noun, the adjective noir remains in its masculine singular form. If the noun were feminine (or plural), the adjective’s form would change accordingly.
Why is the adjective noir placed after the noun frein rather than before it?
In French, most adjectives—especially color adjectives like noir—typically come after the noun they modify. Unlike in English, where adjectives usually precede the noun, French follows the order: noun first followed by the adjective.
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“How does grammatical gender work in French?”
Every French noun is either masculine or feminine, and this affects the articles and adjectives used with it. "Le" is used with masculine nouns and "la" with feminine ones. Adjectives also change form to match — for example, "petit" (masc.) becomes "petite" (fem.).

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