Learn Hardcore French: Le guichet de la banque est fermé; la cliente attend dehors. - The bank counter is closed; the female customer is waiting outside.

Le guichet de la banque est fermé; la cliente attend dehors.

The bank counter is closed; the female customer is waiting outside.

Breakdown of Le guichet de la banque est fermé; la cliente attend dehors.

Questions & Answers about Le guichet de la banque est fermé; la cliente attend dehors.

What exactly does the French word in this sentence, guichet, refer to?

It means a service window/counter where you’re served by a teller or clerk (like a bank teller window or a ticket window).

le guichet: service window/teller counter
la caisse: cash desk/checkout (supermarket, store)
le comptoir: the counter surface (a bar/countertop)
An ATM is usually un distributeur (automatique) de billets (DAB) in France; in Canada you’ll hear un guichet automatique (also GAB).

Why is it de la banque and not du banque?

Because banque is feminine. French contracts only with masculine singular nouns: de + le → du. With feminine singular, there’s no contraction: de + la → de la. Examples:

du guichet (masc.)
de la banque (fem.)
de l’hôtel (word beginning with a vowel or mute h)

Why is it fermé and not fermée?

Adjectives agree with the noun they describe. Guichet is masculine singular, so you use fermé.

Masculine: Le guichet est fermé.
Feminine: La banque est fermée.
Plural: Les guichets sont fermés. / Les banques sont fermées.