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L'imprimante est lente aujourd'hui.

L'imprimante est lente aujourd'hui.
The printer is slow today.
FromLesson 20inHardcore French

Breakdown of L'imprimante est lente aujourd'hui.

être
to be
aujourd'hui
today
l'imprimante
the printer
lent
slow

Questions & Answers about L'imprimante est lente aujourd'hui.

Why is L’imprimante used instead of La imprimante?
In French, when la (the feminine singular definite article) comes before a noun beginning with a vowel or a mute h, it drops the a and becomes l’. This process is called elision. So la imprimante → l’ + imprimante = L’imprimante.
What is the purpose of the apostrophe in L’imprimante?
The apostrophe marks the elision of the vowel a in la. It shows that the two vowels (in la and imprimante) cannot stand next to each other, so one is dropped and replaced by an apostrophe.
Why does the adjective lente come after the noun? In English we say “slow printer,” but here it’s “printer slow.”
Most French adjectives follow the noun they modify. Only a small group of very common adjectives (like petit, grand, bon, mauvais) often come before. Since lent/lente (slow) is not one of these BAGS (Beauty, Age, Goodness, Size) adjectives, it goes after imprimante: L’imprimante est lente.
Why is the adjective lente spelled with an -e at the end?
French adjectives agree in gender and number with the noun. Imprimante is feminine singular, so lent (masculine) adds an e to become lente (feminine). If it were a masculine noun like le copieur, you’d say le copieur est lent (no -e).
Why do we use est here? Couldn’t we use another verb?

Est is the third-person singular of être (to be), equivalent to English “is.” You could also use another verb to express a different nuance:

  • L’imprimante fonctionne lentement aujourd’hui. (The printer is functioning slowly today.)
    But to state a quality (“is slow”), French uses être: L’imprimante est lente.
Can we intensify it? For example, “very slow”?

Yes. You can insert an adverb like très before the adjective:
L’imprimante est très lente aujourd’hui.
That means “The printer is very slow today.”

Could we use the adverb lentement instead of the adjective lente?

You can if you change the structure:

  • L’imprimante fonctionne lentement aujourd’hui. (“The printer works slowly today.”)
    But you cannot say L’imprimante est lentement—that mixes an adverb with être in a way that isn’t grammatical. Être needs an adjective complement.
How do you pronounce aujourd’hui, and what’s with the apostrophe there?
Aujourd’hui is pronounced [o-ʒuʁ-dɥi]. It’s a contraction of au jour d’hui, literally “to the day of today.” Modern spelling keeps the apostrophe to show the lost e in de: d’ + hui. You’ll often hear a slight liaison: o-ʒuʁ-dɥi without pause.
Can aujourd’hui go at the beginning of the sentence?

Absolutely. You can say:
Aujourd’hui, l’imprimante est lente.
Putting aujourd’hui at the start is common for emphasis. The meaning stays the same.

Instead of repeating l’imprimante, can I use elle (she/it)?

Yes. Once the printer has been introduced, you can replace it with the feminine pronoun elle:
L’imprimante est lente aujourd’hui. Elle est même très lente.
Here elle refers back to l’imprimante.

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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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