Breakdown of La nouvelle stagiaire est un peu nerveuse, mais elle est très contente de travailler ici.
Questions & Answers about La nouvelle stagiaire est un peu nerveuse, mais elle est très contente de travailler ici.
Why is it la nouvelle stagiaire and not le nouveau stagiaire?
Because the stagiaire (intern) in this sentence is female.
- Stagiaire can be both masculine and feminine; the form doesn’t change in writing.
- The article and adjective show the gender:
- la nouvelle stagiaire = the new (female) intern
- le nouveau stagiaire = the new (male) intern
So la and nouvelle tell you the stagiaire is a woman.
Why does nouvelle come before the noun (la nouvelle stagiaire) instead of after?
In French, some common adjectives usually go before the noun. Nouveau / nouvelle is one of them.
Typical “before-the-noun” adjectives include:
- bon / mauvais, grand / petit, beau, jeune, vieux, nouveau, joli, etc.
So you say la nouvelle stagiaire, un bon film, une petite maison, not la stagiaire nouvelle in normal, neutral style.
Why is it nerveuse and not nerveux?
Why is it contente and not content?
Could you say the sentence for a male intern? What would change?
Yes. You would change everything that shows feminine gender to the masculine forms:
- La nouvelle stagiaire est un peu nerveuse, mais elle est très contente de travailler ici.
→ Le nouveau stagiaire est un peu nerveux, mais il est très content de travailler ici.
So: la → le, nouvelle → nouveau, nerveuse → nerveux, elle → il, contente → content.
Can you omit the second elle est and just say: …mais très contente de travailler ici?
Why is it un peu nerveuse and not un peu de nerveuse?
Un peu without de is used before adjectives and adverbs:
- un peu nerveuse = a little nervous
- un peu fatigué, un peu triste, un peu lentement, etc.
Un peu de is used before nouns:
- un peu de sucre, un peu de temps, un peu de chance
Here, nerveuse is an adjective, so the correct form is un peu nerveuse, not un peu de nerveuse.
What’s the difference between un peu nerveuse and just nerveuse?
Why is it très contente and not beaucoup contente?
Why do we say contente de travailler and not just contente travailler?
Many French adjectives are followed by de + infinitive to express the reason or cause of the emotion or quality.
- contente de faire quelque chose = happy to do something
- heureux de venir, triste de partir, fier de réussir, etc.
You cannot drop de here; contente travailler is incorrect. It must be contente de travailler.
Could we say contente de travailler ici with à travailler instead of de travailler?
Why is travailler in the infinitive and not a conjugated form?
After adjectives like contente, French uses the infinitive to express the action linked to that feeling:
If you conjugate the verb, you change the structure and meaning:
- Elle est contente parce qu’elle travaille ici.
Here, travaille is conjugated, and you need parce que (because). So the infinitive is required in the original structure after contente de.
Why is the conjunction mais used here, and not something like et or parce que?
Why do we say elle est and not c’est in this sentence?
Use il/elle est before an adjective describing a specific person, already identified:
C’est is used more before nouns or to introduce something more general:
- C’est une nouvelle stagiaire. = She is a new intern.
- C’est nerveux can mean “That’s (something) nervous” in a vague sense, not “She is nervous.”
Here, we’re clearly describing elle (the intern), so elle est is correct.
What’s the difference between ici, là and là-bas? Why is ici used?
All three refer to place, but with different nuances:
- ici = here, close to the speaker (physically or mentally)
- là = there, close to the speaker or listener, or just “there” in a neutral way
- là-bas = over there, farther away
In travailler ici, the intern is speaking from or about the place where she actually works, so ici (“here”) is the natural choice.
Sign up free — start using our AI language tutor
Start learning FrenchMaster French — from La nouvelle stagiaire est un peu nerveuse, mais elle est très contente de travailler ici to fluency
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓Infinitely deep — unlimited vocabulary and grammar
- ✓Fast-paced — build complex sentences from the start
- ✓Unforgettable — efficient spaced repetition system
- ✓ AI tutor to answer your grammar questions