Learn Hardcore French: Le chat tombe de la table.

It translates to "The cat falls from the table." This helps reinforce vocabulary such as chat (cat), tombe (falls), and the prepositional phrase de la table (from the table).

What is the conjugation of the verb tomber in this sentence?

In this sentence, tombe is the third person singular form of the verb tomber in the present tense. Since le chat is the subject (a masculine noun), it correctly takes the form tombe to mean he/she/it falls.

What does the preposition de indicate in this sentence?

The preposition de means "from" in this context. It shows the origin or source of the action, indicating that the cat is falling from the table.

Why are the articles le and la used in the sentence?

French nouns require gendered definite articles. Here, le is used with chat (a masculine noun) and la is used with table (a feminine noun). They both translate to "the" in English, matching the gender of the nouns they describe.

How would you form a negative version of this sentence in French?

To make the sentence negative, place ne before the verb and pas after it. The negative form becomes: "Le chat ne tombe pas de la table."

Why is the simple present used to describe this action in French, compared to the continuous present in English?

French does not have a separate continuous tense like English does. The simple present, as seen in tombe, is used to express both habitual actions and actions happening at the moment of speaking. So, even though English sometimes uses "is falling" to emphasize an ongoing action, French simply uses "Le chat tombe de la table."