Learn Hardcore French: Mon oreiller est dans l’armoire, mais la couette est sur le lit. - My pillow is in the wardrobe, but the duvet is on the bed.

Because oreiller (pillow) is a masculine noun in French, so it takes the masculine possessive mon. Feminine nouns take ma (e.g., ma couette), and plurals take mes. Example: mon oreiller, ma couette, mes oreillers.

Why do we write l’armoire with an apostrophe instead of la armoire?

French elides le/la to l’ before a vowel sound (or silent h) to make pronunciation smoother. Since armoire starts with a vowel, la armoire becomes l’armoire.

Why is it dans l’armoire and not en l’armoire?

Use dans for being physically inside something. En is not used with a definite article like that and often signals means, time, or substance (e.g., en France, en été, en bois). So you say dans l’armoire, not en l’armoire.

Why is it sur le lit and not just sur lit?

French usually requires a determiner before a common noun. After prepositions like sur, you typically keep the article: sur le lit, sur la table, sur l’étagère.

Why not sur la lit?

Because lit (bed) is masculine. The correct definite article is le: sur le lit.

What’s the difference between dans and sur here?

dans = inside/enclosed by something: dans l’armoire (inside the wardrobe).
sur = on/top of, touching the surface: sur le lit (on the bed).

Could I say au-dessus du lit instead of sur le lit?

Only if you mean “above the bed” without touching it. Sur le lit means on the bed’s surface; au-dessus du lit means hovering/located above.

Why is there a comma before mais?

When mais links two independent clauses, French commonly uses a comma before it: …, mais …. It’s standard and improves readability.

Could I use cependant or pourtant instead of mais?

Yes, but they behave differently. Cependant/pourtant are adverbs (often sentence-initial) meaning “however.” Example: Mon oreiller est dans l’armoire. Cependant, la couette est sur le lit. Mais is a coordinating conjunction within one sentence.

Why is it la couette and not ma couette? Shouldn’t both items be “my”?

Both are possible. Mon oreiller …, mais la couette … uses a definite article for the second item because the referent is contextually clear. If you want strict parallelism, say Mon oreiller est dans l’armoire, mais ma couette est sur le lit. Both are natural.

Are oreiller and coussin the same?

Not quite:

un oreiller = a bed pillow you sleep on.
un coussin = a cushion/throw pillow (sofa, decorative, seat). Some people might loosely use coussin in speech, but the standard distinction is as above.

What exactly is a couette? How does it differ from duvet, couverture, and housse de couette?

une couette = a duvet/comforter (the fluffy quilt).
duvet in French literally refers to down (the filling), but can also mean a down duvet.
une couverture = a blanket.
une housse de couette = a duvet cover.

What’s the nuance between armoire, placard, penderie, and commode?

une armoire = a free‑standing wardrobe/cupboard with doors.
un placard = a built‑in cupboard/closet.
une penderie = a hanging closet/wardrobe area (for clothes on hangers).
une commode = a chest of drawers.

Can I say Il y a mon oreiller dans l’armoire instead of Mon oreiller est dans l’armoire?

Yes. Il y a… presents/introduces existence or presence (“There is my pillow in the wardrobe”), while Mon oreiller est… makes the pillow the sentence topic (“My pillow is in the wardrobe”). Both are correct; the focus is slightly different.

How would the sentence change in the plural?

Plural pillows: Mes oreillers sont dans l’armoire, mais la couette est sur le lit.
Plural duvets too: Mes oreillers sont dans l’armoire, mais les couettes sont sur le lit.

How do I say “in bed” versus “on the bed”?

dans le lit = in bed (under the covers/in the bed area).
sur le lit = on the bed (on top of it). Also, aller au lit means “to go to bed.”

Is there anything tricky about pronunciation in this sentence?

A few tips (IPA approximations):

mon [mɔ̃] (nasal vowel)
oreiller [ɔʁe.je]
est [ɛ] (the final -t is silent here)
dans [dɑ̃] (nasal; final -s silent)
l’armoire [laʁ.mwaʁ] (elision makes it flow as “lar-”)
mais [mɛ]
la couette [la kwɛt]
sur [syʁ]
le lit [lə li] No liaison in est dans (the -t stays silent) or sur le; elision occurs in l’armoire.

Why can’t I invert to say Dans l’armoire est mon oreiller?

That word order is unnatural in French. Keep subject–verb order: Mon oreiller est dans l’armoire. For fronting the location, use: Dans l’armoire, il y a mon oreiller.

Is oreiller related to oreille (ear)? I keep mixing them up.

They’re related etymologically, but different words:

une oreille = an ear (feminine).
un oreiller = a pillow (masculine). Watch the gender and the endings: -eille (ear) vs -eiller (pillow).