Breakdown of J'imagine une ville magnifique.
je
I
la ville
the city
magnifique
beautiful
une
a
imaginer
to imagine
Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching French grammar and vocabulary.
Questions & Answers about J'imagine une ville magnifique.
Why is the subject pronoun contracted in "J'imagine" instead of being written as "Je imagine"?
In French, when the subject pronoun je is followed by a verb that starts with a vowel sound, the final vowel of je is dropped and replaced by an apostrophe. This is done for smoother pronunciation. That’s why je imagine becomes j'imagine.
What tense is "J'imagine" and how is the verb "imaginer" conjugated here?
The verb imaginer is in the present tense, and J'imagine is the first-person singular form. It means "I imagine", following the standard conjugation pattern of regular -er verbs in French.
Can you break down the noun phrase "une ville magnifique"?
Certainly! The phrase is composed of three parts:
• une – an indefinite article meaning "a".
• ville – a noun meaning "city".
• magnifique – an adjective meaning "magnificent".
Note that in French, adjectives like magnifique commonly follow the noun they modify, which is why the adjective comes after ville.
Why does the adjective "magnifique" remain unchanged, even when describing the feminine noun "ville"?
Unlike some adjectives that change form based on gender (or number), magnifique is one of those adjectives that remains the same in both masculine and feminine forms. Therefore, even though ville is feminine, the form of magnifique does not change.
How does the word order in French compare to English in this sentence?
In English, adjectives typically precede the noun (for example, "a magnificent city"). In French, however, many adjectives—like magnifique—are placed after the noun. Thus, "une ville magnifique" is equivalent in meaning to "a magnificent city", despite the difference in the order of words.