Usages of ancien
Ce livre ancien est un trésor pour ma famille.
This old book is a treasure for my family.
Le livre est ancien.
The book is old.
Parfois, elle se trompe et répond à une ancienne annonce.
Sometimes she makes a mistake and answers an old ad.
Un guide touristique leur montre un ancien volcan près de la mer.
A tour guide shows them an old volcano near the sea.
La nouvelle clôture est plus solide que l’ancienne, mais le portail grince encore.
The new fence is sturdier than the old one, but the gate still creaks.
Paul essaie de visser la planche, mais il doit d’abord dévisser l’ancienne vis.
Paul is trying to screw in the plank, but he first has to unscrew the old screw.
Ma sœur retourne chez l’opticien parce que ses anciennes lunettes sont trop lourdes.
My sister goes back to the optician because her old glasses are too heavy.
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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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