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Le couteau est affûté.

Le couteau est affûté.
The knife is sharp.
FromLesson 16inHardcore French

Breakdown of Le couteau est affûté.

être
to be
le couteau
the knife
affûté
sharp

Questions & Answers about Le couteau est affûté.

What does Le couteau est affûté mean in English?
It translates as The knife is sharp.
How is the sentence structured grammatically?
The sentence follows a subject–verb–adjective pattern. Le couteau serves as the subject (with le as the masculine definite article and couteau as the masculine noun), est is the linking verb (the third person singular form of être), and affûté is the adjective describing the subject's condition.
Why does the adjective affûté have a circumflex accent on the “û”?
The circumflex accent in affûté indicates that historically an s used to follow the û. This accent is a remnant of older French spelling conventions and helps guide pronunciation, without changing the current meaning of the word.
How does the adjective affûté agree with the noun in this sentence?
Since couteau is a masculine singular noun, the adjective affûté is in its masculine singular form to match it. In French, adjectives must agree in gender and number with the nouns they describe.
What role does the verb est play in this sentence?
Est is the third person singular present tense form of être (to be). It functions as a linking verb that connects the subject le couteau to its state or quality described by affûté.
Is there any subtle difference between affûté and similar adjectives like aiguisé when describing a knife?
While both affûté and aiguisé can mean sharp, affûté often implies that the knife has been precisely sharpened and is in ideal condition, whereas aiguisé tends to focus more generally on the fact that a knife has been sharpened. The choice between them can depend on context and the nuance a speaker wishes to convey.
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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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