Je regarde le ciel.

I look at the sky.

Breakdown of Je regarde le ciel.

• je: I
• le ciel: the sky
• regarder: to look at

Questions & Answers about Je regarde le ciel.

Why is there no preposition before le ciel as in English “I look at the sky”?

In French, regarder is a transitive verb, which means it takes a direct object. You say regarder quelque chose (to look at something) without adding à or any other preposition. English uses “look at,” but French simply uses regarder + direct object.

Why do we use le ciel and not un ciel or no article at all?

French uses the definite article (le, la, les) when speaking about unique or general things—like le ciel (the sky), la mer (the sea), les étoiles (the stars). English often drops the article in these cases (“I look at sky,” “at night”), but in French you keep it to show you mean the sky in general or the one and only sky.

Why is ciel masculine? Is there a rule I can follow?

Every French noun has grammatical gender, and ciel happens to be masculine, so it takes le. Unfortunately there is no simple rule that covers all nouns—you often have to memorize or use mnemonic tricks. Some learners note that many nouns ending in -el, -il, -as, or -os are masculine, but there are exceptions.

What’s the difference between voir and regarder?

• voir = to see (passive perception, something enters your field of vision without intentional focus)
• regarder = to look at/watch (active, you direct your gaze)
Example:
– “Je vois un oiseau” = I see a bird (it’s there, my eyes catch it).
– “Je regarde cet oiseau” = I’m looking at that bird (I choose to focus on it).

How do you pronounce Je regarde le ciel?

In International Phonetic Alphabet: /ʒə ʁə.ɡaʁd lə sjɛl/
Approximate: “zhuh ruh-GARD luh syel”
• je = zhuh
• regarde = ruh-GARD (the final e is silent; the d is pronounced)
• le = luh
• ciel = syel

How is regarder conjugated in the present tense?

It’s a regular -ER verb. Present tense endings for the stem regard- are:
• je regarde
• tu regardes
• il/elle/on regarde
• nous regardons
• vous regardez
• ils/elles regardent

Why does regarder end in -e for je but -es for tu?

That’s the standard pattern for -ER verbs in the present:
je → -e,
tu → -es,
il/elle → -e,
nous → -ons,
vous → -ez,
ils/elles → -ent.
The endings differentiate the subjects even when some spellings (je/il both -e) look the same.

Could I say Je regarde au ciel or Je regarde vers le ciel?

No—because regarder already takes a direct object (no preposition).
• Je regarde le ciel is correct.
• vers le ciel would mean “towards the sky” in a directional sense, not the act of looking.

If I’ve already mentioned le ciel, how do I replace it with a pronoun?

Use the direct-object pronoun le (for masculine singular).
Example:
• “Où est le ciel que tu regardais ?”
• “Je le regardais.”

Feel free to ask more about word order, nuances, or other verbs!