Breakdown of L'écran de mon ordinateur est très grand.
être
to be
mon
my
de
of
l'ordinateur
the computer
très
very
grand
large
l'écran
the screen
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Questions & Answers about L'écran de mon ordinateur est très grand.
Why is l'écran used instead of le écran?
In French, when the definite article le or la comes before a word beginning with a vowel (or mute h), you drop the vowel of the article and replace it with an apostrophe. This process is called elision. So le écran becomes l'écran to make pronunciation smoother.
What role does de play in l'écran de mon ordinateur?
The preposition de links two nouns in a possessive or descriptive relationship. Here it means “screen of my computer,” functioning like the English “of” or the ’s in “computer’s screen.”
Why do we say de mon instead of du or de l' before ordinateur?
- du is the contraction of de + le, and de l' is de + l' (before vowel) when you’re using definite articles.
- But mon is a possessive adjective, not a definite article. Possessives never contract with de, so you must say de mon ordinateur, not du mon or de l' mon.
Why is mon ordinateur using mon and not ma ordinateur?
Possessive adjectives agree with the gender of the noun they modify. Ordinateur is masculine, so it takes mon. (By the way, French also uses mon before a feminine noun that starts with a vowel to avoid a vowel clash—for example, mon amie.)
Why is the adjective grand not grande here?
Adjectives in French must match the gender and number of their noun. Since écran is masculine singular, you use the masculine singular form grand. If écran were feminine, you’d add an e (for example, une vitre grande).
Why is très placed before grand? Could I say grand très?
Adverbs like très that modify adjectives always go directly before the adjective in French. You say très grand, never grand très.
What’s the difference between grand and gros when describing size? Could I say un écran gros?
Both can mean “big,” but with different nuances:
- grand speaks to dimensions (height, width, length).
- gros suggests bulk, thickness, or weight.
For screens, dimension is what matters, so French uses grand, not gros.
Could I rephrase the sentence as Mon ordinateur a un écran très grand? What changes?
Yes, you can say that to mean “My computer has a very large screen.” Changes include:
- You introduce the indefinite article un before écran.
- You switch the verb from être (to be) to avoir (to have).
- The focus shifts slightly from describing the screen itself to highlighting ownership.
Can I use beaucoup instead of très to mean “very” in this sentence?
No. Beaucoup is used to modify verbs (e.g., j'aime beaucoup) or to quantify nouns (beaucoup de livres). To intensify an adjective, French uses très, so très grand is correct.