Breakdown of Sa petite déception après l'examen ne dure pas longtemps.
Questions & Answers about Sa petite déception après l'examen ne dure pas longtemps.
Sa is a possessive adjective meaning his / her / its before a feminine singular noun.
- sa = his / her / its (before feminine singular: sa déception)
- son = his / her / its (before masculine singular or before a vowel sound)
- ses = his / her / its (before plurals)
In French, the choice of sa / son / ses depends on the gender and number of the thing owned, not on the owner’s gender.
So:
- sa déception = his disappointment / her disappointment / its disappointment (depending on context)
The sentence alone doesn’t tell you if it’s “his” or “her”; you’d infer that from the wider context.
Because déception is a feminine noun in French (la déception).
Adjectives must agree in gender and number with the noun:
- masculine singular: petit (un petit problème)
- feminine singular: petite (une petite déception)
- masculine plural: petits (de petits problèmes)
- feminine plural: petites (de petites déceptions)
So with déception (feminine), you must use petite.
Petite softens the idea of disappointment. It suggests:
- a mild or minor disappointment
- something that is not dramatic or serious
- perhaps temporary or easy to get over
So:
- sa déception = his/her disappointment (neutral, could be big or small)
- sa petite déception = his/her small disappointment, a bit minimized or downplayed
It can sound a bit more affectionate or reassuring, depending on context.
Unlike English, French typically needs an article (le, la, les, l’) before a singular, countable noun.
- English: after exam / after the exam
- French: après l’examen
You can’t normally drop the article here the way English sometimes does. So:
- ❌ après examen (incorrect in normal French)
- ✅ après l’examen (after the exam)
- ✅ après un examen (after an exam, any exam)
Here, l’ is the definite article (le) shortened before a vowel (see next question).
This is elision: French drops the vowel of le (or la) before a noun that starts with a vowel or mute h.
- le examen → l’examen
- la école → l’école
- je aime → j’aime
So l’examen is just le examen with elision to make pronunciation smoother. You must write l’examen, never le examen.
Standard French negation is usually in two parts:
- ne … pas = not
- ne dure pas = does not last
Structure:
- ne (or n’ before a vowel) goes before the verb
- pas goes after the conjugated verb
So:
- ça dure = it lasts
- ça ne dure pas = it does not last
Using only ne without pas is archaic or literary. In everyday modern French, you need ne … pas in writing.
Note: in spoken French, people often drop the “ne”:
- Ça dure pas longtemps. (common speech) but in standard written French, you keep both parts: ne dure pas.
Dure is present tense, 3rd person singular of durer (“to last”):
- il/elle/ça dure = it lasts
The sentence describes a general fact or a typical reaction:
- Sa petite déception … ne dure pas longtemps.
= His/her little disappointment doesn’t last long.
To talk about a specific past event (“didn’t last long”), you’d typically use passé composé:
- Sa petite déception après l’examen n’a pas duré longtemps.
= His/her little disappointment after the exam didn’t last long.
Here:
- a duré = past (“lasted”)
In French, the basic pattern is:
subject + ne + verb + pas + (other elements)
So:
- sa petite déception … ne dure pas longtemps
- ne before dure
- pas after dure
- longtemps at the end as an adverb
Putting ne pas together before the verb (“ne pas dure”) is wrong in this kind of sentence.
You do see ne pas + infinitive (when the verb is not conjugated), e.g.:
- ne pas durer longtemps = not to last long
But once the verb is conjugated, ne and pas go around it:
- ça ne dure pas longtemps
Longtemps is an adverb meaning for a long time.
- ne dure pas longtemps = doesn’t last (for a) long time
Long (masculine) or longue (feminine) is an adjective meaning long (physically or in duration) and agrees with a noun:
- un long examen = a long exam
- une longue journée = a long day
You can’t say:
- ❌ ne dure pas long (incorrect with long as an adjective here)
For “last long” / “didn’t last long”, French uses durer + longtemps:
- ça dure longtemps = it lasts a long time
- ça ne dure pas longtemps = it doesn’t last long
Déception in French means disappointment, not “trick” or “fraud”.
This is a classic false friend:
- French déception = English disappointment
- English deception = French tromperie, supercherie, duperie, etc.
So:
- une grande déception = a big disappointment
- être déçu(e) = to be disappointed
In the sentence, sa petite déception is clearly “his/her little disappointment”.
Phonetic-style approximation (not strict IPA), stressed syllables in CAPS:
- Sa petite déception après l’examen ne dure pas longtemps.
→ sa puh-TEET day-sep-SYON a-PRÈ lek-sa-MAN ne DUR pah long-TAN
Key points:
- sa: “sa”, short “a” as in “sat” (but French)
- petite: pronounced puh-TEET; final -e is almost silent but keeps the t pronounced
- déception: day-sep-SYON; final -n very light, nasalizes the “on” sound
- après: a-PRÈ; final -s silent
- l’examen: lek-sa-MAN; ex here like “egz”; final -en nasal (-an)
- ne: often very light, sometimes dropped in speech
- dure: DUR; final -e silent, “u” like French u (lips rounded)
- pas: pah; final -s silent
- longtemps: long-TAN; the p is silent, -ps → just nasal “an” sound, final -s silent
You can make a light liaison in après l’examen (sounds like a-PRÈ LEK-sa-MAN), but it’s quite natural either with or without a very strong link.