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Questions & Answers about Le couloir est étroit.
Why is le used here instead of la or les?
Le is the definite article for masculine singular nouns in French. Couloir is a masculine singular noun, so you use le. You would use la for feminine singular nouns and les for any plural noun.
What part of speech is étroit, and why does it come after couloir?
Étroit is an adjective meaning “narrow.” In French, most adjectives follow the noun they describe. Only a small group of common adjectives (often remembered by the acronym BAGS – Beauty, Age, Goodness, Size) come before the noun. Étroit is not in that group, so it goes after couloir.
Why is étroit spelled with a final -t and not -e?
Adjectives in French agree in gender and number with the noun. Since couloir is masculine singular, étroit takes the masculine singular form (ending in -t). The form étroite (ending in -te) would be used if the noun were feminine singular.
How do you pronounce couloir?
Couloir is pronounced roughly as “koo-LWAHR.” In IPA notation, that’s /ku.lwaʁ/. The r at the end is the typical French guttural r, and the l is clear as in “let.”
How do you pronounce étroit? Is the final -t sounded?
Étroit is pronounced /e.tʁwa/. You do pronounce the t because it starts the cluster -tr-, so it isn’t silent. The oi gives the /wa/ sound at the end.
What is the function of est in this sentence?
Est is the third-person singular present-tense form of the verb être (“to be”). It links the subject (le couloir) to its description (étroit).
How would you make this sentence plural?
To make both noun and adjective plural, change le to les, est to sont, and étroit to étroits: Les couloirs sont étroits. (This means “The corridors are narrow.”)
How would you say “a narrow corridor” with an indefinite article?
Use un for a masculine singular indefinite article and keep the adjective after the noun: Un couloir étroit.
Can I replace étroit with another adjective? How does agreement work?
Yes. For example, to say “The corridor is long,” you’d use long (masculine singular): Le couloir est long. If the corridor were feminine, you’d switch to longue. Always match gender and number.