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Sa tablette est cassée, mais le rapport sera imprimé au bureau.

Sa tablette est cassée, mais le rapport sera imprimé au bureau.
Her tablet is broken, but the report will be printed at the office.
FromLesson 26inHardcore French

Breakdown of Sa tablette est cassée, mais le rapport sera imprimé au bureau.

être
to be
le bureau
the office
mais
but
sa
her
cassé
broken
au
at the
le rapport
the report
la tablette
the tablet
imprimé
printed

Questions & Answers about Sa tablette est cassée, mais le rapport sera imprimé au bureau.

Why is it sa tablette and not son tablette?
Because sa/son/ses agree with the possessed noun’s gender/number, not the owner. Tablette is feminine singular, so sa. Use son before feminine nouns starting with a vowel or mute h to ease pronunciation (e.g., son histoire, son amie).
How do I know tablette is feminine?
Why does cassée end with -e?

It’s a past participle used as an adjective and must agree with the feminine singular subject tablette. Masculine: cassé. Plural adds -s: cassés / cassées.

  • Son téléphone est cassé.
  • Ses tablettes sont cassées.
Is est cassée passive voice?
Here it describes a state, not an action. Sa tablette est cassée = “The tablet is broken (in a broken state).” A true passive of a breaking action would be Sa tablette a été cassée (par quelqu’un).
Should I use cassée or en panne for electronics?
  • cassé(e): physically broken/damaged (cracked screen, snapped part).
  • en panne: not working/malfunctioning (no visible break). For a tablet: Sa tablette est en panne if it won’t turn on; cassée if the screen is shattered.
What does rapport mean compared to compte rendu?
  • un rapport: a formal report or analysis.
  • un compte rendu: minutes/summary of a meeting, or a review.
  • un dossier: a file or case file. Here le rapport is a specific report.
Why le rapport and not un rapport?
Le signals a specific, known item in context. Un would introduce a nonspecific report.
What tense and voice is sera imprimé?

Future passive.

  • Pattern: future of être
  • Variants:
    • Near future: va être imprimé.
    • Present state/passive: est imprimé.
    • Past passive: a été imprimé.
    • Conditional: serait imprimé.
Does imprimé agree with rapport?

Yes, passive past participles agree with the subject:

  • imprimé (masc. sg., le rapport)
  • imprimée (fem. sg., la lettre)
  • imprimés (masc. pl.)
  • imprimées (fem. pl.)
What exactly does au bureau mean?

“At the office/at work” (location). Don’t confuse with:

  • dans le bureau: inside the office room.
  • sur le bureau: on the desk.
Why au and not à le?

French contracts:

  • à + le = au → au bureau
  • à + les = aux → aux bureaux No contraction with la or vowel-start feminine: à la maison, à l’école.
Can I add who is printing it with par?
Yes: Le rapport sera imprimé par Paul au bureau. Without an agent, au bureau just marks place. Avoid par le bureau unless the office entity itself is literally the agent; better: par quelqu’un du bureau.
Where can au bureau go in the sentence?
  • Neutral: … sera imprimé au bureau.
  • Fronted for emphasis: Au bureau, le rapport sera imprimé. Avoid splitting auxiliary and participle: not … sera au bureau imprimé.
Do I need the comma before mais?

A comma before mais is standard to separate two clauses: …, mais …. Alternatives:

  • Cependant / Pourtant, starting a new sentence: Sa tablette est cassée. Cependant, le rapport sera imprimé au bureau. Mais is neutral; cependant/pourtant are a bit more formal.
Any pronunciation tips for this sentence?
  • Sa [sa], tablette [tablɛt].
  • cassée [kase] (final -ée = [e]).
  • sera [səʁa].
  • imprimé [ɛ̃pʁime] (nasal im before p).
  • au [o], bureau [byʁo] (French u = [y]). No mandatory liaisons here; say it smoothly: [sa tablɛt ɛ kase | mɛ lə ʁapɔʁ səʁa ɛ̃pʁime o byʁo].
Can I rephrase the passive as an active sentence?

Yes:

  • On imprimera le rapport au bureau.
  • Le service imprimera le rapport au bureau. Passive is common in formal style; active with on is frequent in speech.
How do I make it clear it’s “his” vs “her” tablet?

Sa matches the noun, not the owner. To disambiguate:

  • Sa tablette à lui / à elle est cassée.
  • Or use a name: La tablette de Paul/Marie est cassée.
AI Language TutorTry it ↗
“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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