Learn Hardcore French: Chaque élève a une trousse avec un stylo, un crayon et une gomme. - Each student has a pencil case with a pen, a pencil, and an eraser.

Chaque élève a une trousse…
- Literally: Each student has a pencil case…
- Emphasizes individuals, one by one.
- Suggests: for every single student, this is true.
Tous les élèves ont une trousse…
- Literally: All the students have a pencil case…
- Emphasizes the group as a whole.
- Suggests: as a group, they all possess one.

In many contexts, they are interchangeable, but chaque feels more individual, tous les more collective.

Why is there no article before chaque élève? Why not le chaque élève?

In French, chaque is itself a determiner (like un, le, ce), so it replaces an article; you don’t add another one.

Correct:

chaque élève ✅

Incorrect:

le chaque élève ❌
un chaque élève ❌

Compare:

l’élève = the student
chaque élève = each student
You choose either the article (le/la/l’/les) or chaque, not both.

What does trousse mean exactly, and why is it une trousse?

Une trousse is a pencil case (a small bag or case where you keep pens, pencils, etc.).

It’s feminine, so it takes the article une (feminine form of un/une = a/an):

une trousse ✅
un trousse ❌

Some related vocabulary:

une trousse = a pencil case
un stylo = a pen
un crayon = a pencil
une gomme = an eraser / a rubber (BrE)

How do I know when to use un and when to use une in un stylo, un crayon et une gomme?

Un and une both mean a/an, but:

un is used with masculine nouns
une is used with feminine nouns

In this sentence:

un stylo – masculine noun → un
un crayon – masculine noun → un
une gomme – feminine noun → une

You have to memorize the gender of nouns as you learn them:

say un stylo, not une stylo
say une gomme, not un gomme

Why is it avec un stylo, un crayon et une gomme? Could I just say a un stylo, un crayon et une gomme without avec?

You need avec here because it introduces what is inside or included in the pencil case.

Chaque élève a une trousse avec un stylo, un crayon et une gomme.
= Each student has a pencil case with a pen, a pencil, and an eraser in it.

If you drop avec, the meaning changes:

Chaque élève a une trousse, un stylo, un crayon et une gomme.
= Each student has a pencil case, a pen, a pencil, and an eraser
(It no longer clearly says that the pen, pencil, and eraser are in the case.)

So avec works like “with (containing)” here.

Why do we say un stylo, un crayon et une gomme and not des stylos, des crayons et des gommes?

The sentence is describing one of each item in the pencil case:

un stylo = one pen
un crayon = one pencil
une gomme = one eraser

If the pencil cases were meant to contain several of each item, you could say:

des stylos, des crayons et des gommes
= some pens, some pencils, and some erasers

So:

Use singular (un/une) when it’s one item.
Use plural (des) when it’s more than one item, or an unspecified number.

How is chaque élève a une trousse pronounced? Are there any silent letters or liaisons?

Approximate pronunciation (in IPA):

chaque → /ʃak/
- ch = /ʃ/ (like English “sh”)
- final -e is silent here
élève → /elɛv/
- é = /e/ (like “ay” in “day”, but shorter)
- è = /ɛ/ (like “e” in “bed”)
a → /a/ (like “a” in “father”, short and open)
une → /yn/ (u like French u, rounded, no exact English equivalent)
trousse → /tʁus/
- final -e is silent
- final -s is also silent

Liaison:

Many speakers will make a liaison between chaque and élève:
- chaque élève → /ʃak‿elɛv/ (you hear a little /k/ linking the words)

Why is there a comma only after un stylo and not before et in un stylo, un crayon et une gomme?

In French, the standard way to write a list is:

item 1, item 2 et item 3

There is usually:

A comma between earlier items.
No comma before et (and) introducing the last item.

So:

un stylo, un crayon et une gomme ✅
un stylo, un crayon, et une gomme ❌ (this “Oxford comma” style is not standard in French)

Does élève refer only to children, or can it also mean an older student?

Élève means pupil / student and is neutral in age:

It can refer to a child in primary school.
It can refer to a teenager in middle or high school.
In some contexts, it can even be used for students in specialized schools (music, dance, etc.).

For university students, French often prefers étudiant / étudiante, but élève can still appear in some formal expressions.

Why is it just chaque élève a une trousse and not chaque élève a sa trousse?

Both are possible, but there is a slight nuance:

Chaque élève a une trousse…
- Neutral statement: each student has a pencil case.
- We don’t explicitly say it “belongs to them”, though that is implied in context.
Chaque élève a sa trousse…
- Literally: each student has his/her pencil case.
- Emphasizes personal ownership more clearly.

In your sentence, context usually makes it obvious that the trousse belongs to the student, so une trousse is enough.

Could we replace a with possède in this sentence?

Yes, grammatically you can say:

Chaque élève possède une trousse avec un stylo, un crayon et une gomme.

Posséder is a bit more formal and stronger than avoir:

avoir = to have (everyday, very common)
posséder = to possess, to own (more formal, can sound heavier)

In normal spoken or simple written French, avoir (a) is the most natural choice here.