L’exposition sur la forêt commence à quinze heures.

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Breakdown of L’exposition sur la forêt commence à quinze heures.

• commencer: to start
• l'heure: the hour
• l'exposition: the exhibition

Questions & Answers about L’exposition sur la forêt commence à quinze heures.

Why is it L’exposition and not La exposition?

French uses elision: la becomes l’ before a word that starts with a vowel sound (or a mute h). Since exposition starts with a vowel sound, you get l’exposition. The noun is still feminine; if it were masculine and started with a vowel, you’d also use l’ (e.g., l’homme).

How do I know exposition is feminine?

The elided article l’ hides the gender, but the full form would be la exposition → l’exposition. Also, most nouns ending in -tion are feminine (e.g., la nation, la décision), so it’s une exposition.

What does sur mean here? Can I use de instead?

Here sur means “about/on the topic of.” With nouns like exposition, conférence, film, livre, French commonly uses sur to introduce the subject matter: une exposition sur la forêt. Using de would usually indicate content/possession or composition (e.g., une exposition de photos = an exhibition of photos), not the topic. Alternatives: à propos de, au sujet de, concernant (more formal/wordy).

Why la forêt and not une forêt or les forêts?