Questions & Answers about Cette dépense est trop élevée.
Why is it cette and not ce or cet?
Because dépense is a feminine singular noun. The feminine demonstrative determiner is cette. Use:
- ce for masculine singular before a consonant (e.g., ce coût),
- cet for masculine singular before a vowel or mute h (e.g., cet achat),
- cette for feminine singular (e.g., cette dépense).
Why does élevée end with -e here?
Élevée is an adjective agreeing with the feminine noun dépense. Agreement rules:
- Masculine singular: élevé
- Feminine singular: élevée
- Masculine plural: élevés
- Feminine plural: élevées
The adverb trop never changes.
Does trop mean “too” or “very”? How is it different from très?
- trop = “too,” implying excess: trop élevé (too high).
- très = “very,” strong but not excessive: très élevé (very high). Colloquially, especially among younger speakers, trop can sometimes mean “so/really” (e.g., C’est trop bien !), but in your sentence it keeps its core “too” meaning.