Learn Hardcore French: Cette citoyenne parle avec ses voisins au café. - This citizen talks with her neighbors at the café.

ce: before a masculine singular noun starting with a consonant (e.g. ce voisin)
cet: before a masculine singular noun starting with a vowel or mute h (e.g. cet homme)
cette: before a feminine singular noun (e.g. cette femme, cette citoyenne)
ces: for any plural noun (e.g. ces voisins)

Because citoyenne is feminine singular, the correct form is cette.

What kind of word is citoyenne, and how is it related to citoyen?

Citoyenne is a noun meaning “female citizen”.
The basic word is citoyen (“citizen” in the masculine form). To make the feminine form, citoyen becomes citoyenne:

masculine: un citoyen
feminine: une citoyenne

So cette citoyenne means “this (female) citizen”.

Why is the verb form parle and not parles or parlent?

The verb is parler (to speak / to talk) in the present tense. The relevant forms are:

je parle
tu parles
il/elle/on parle
ils/elles parlent

The subject here is cette citoyenne, which is equivalent to elle (she), so you need the 3rd person singular form: parle.

Parles is only for tu (you, singular informal), and parlent is for ils/elles (they), so neither fits this subject.

What is the difference between parler avec, parler à, and parler de?

All three are common, but they have different uses:

parler avec quelqu’un = to talk with someone, implying a more mutual conversation (both people talking).
parler à quelqu’un = to talk to someone, focusing on the direction of speech (one person speaking to another). In many situations, it overlaps with parler avec.
parler de quelque chose = to talk about something.

In parle avec ses voisins, avec emphasizes that she is having a conversation with her neighbors, not just speaking to them.

How do we know that ses means “her” neighbors and not “his” or “their” neighbors?

In French, ses can mean his, her, or its (for plural things). The form does not change for masculine vs feminine owners.

We understand “her neighbors” from context:

The subject is cette citoyenne, which refers to a woman → so ses voisins is naturally read as “her neighbors.”

If the subject were masculine (e.g. Ce citoyen parle avec ses voisins au café), the same form ses voisins would then mean “his neighbors.”

Why is it ses voisins and not son voisins or sa voisins?

The choice between son / sa / ses depends on the number and gender of the noun that is owned, not on the owner:

son: before a singular masculine noun (e.g. son voisin = his/her neighbor)
sa: before a singular feminine noun (e.g. sa voisine = his/her (female) neighbor)
ses: before any plural noun (masculine or feminine) (e.g. ses voisins = his/her neighbors)

Since voisins is plural, you must use ses.

Why isn’t there an article like les before voisins, when in English we say “the neighbors”?

In French, you don’t use a definite article (le, la, les) together with a possessive adjective (mon, ton, son, notre, votre, leur, etc.).

So you say:

ses voisins = her/their neighbors, not les ses voisins (incorrect)

The possessive ses already includes the idea of “the” in this context, so an extra article is not used.

What does au café literally mean, and how is au formed?

Au is a contraction of à + le:

à = at / to
le = the (masculine singular)
à + le → au

So au café literally means “at the café” (or sometimes “to the café” depending on the verb).

In this sentence, because the verb is parle (a verb of position/activity), au café is understood as “at the café” (location, not movement).

Is there a difference between au café and dans le café?

Yes, there is a nuance:

au café: more general; usually means “at the café” (as a place or establishment). It doesn’t specify whether the person is inside or maybe just at the terrace, etc.
dans le café: literally “in the café”, and focuses on being inside the building.

In everyday speech, au café is the usual, natural way to say “at the café.”

Does parle here mean “is speaking” or “speaks”? How does French express the progressive (“is doing”)?

French simple present (here: parle) can cover both:

Elle parle avec ses voisins au café.
= She speaks with her neighbors at the café. (habitual)
or She is speaking with her neighbors at the café. (right now)

If you really want to insist on the “right now” idea, French can say:

Elle est en train de parler avec ses voisins au café.
= She is in the middle of speaking with her neighbors at the café.

But in normal conversation, Elle parle… is enough for both meanings.

Is citoyenne an adjective or a noun here?

In this sentence, citoyenne is a noun meaning “a (female) citizen.”
The pattern is:

determiner (cette) + noun (citoyenne) → cette citoyenne

French does have an adjectival use related to citoyen/citoyenne in certain expressions (e.g. devoirs citoyens = civic duties), but here it clearly functions as the subject noun of the sentence.

How are citoyenne and voisins pronounced?

Approximate pronunciation (in IPA and rough English hints):

citoyenne → /si.twa.jɛn/
- ci: /si/ (like see)
- tois: /twa/ (like twa in twa- from trois if you know it)
- enne: /jɛn/ (similar to yen in yen with a slight y sound before it)
voisins → /vwa.zɛ̃/
- voi: /vwa/ (like vwa in voilà)
- sins: /zɛ̃/ (nasal vowel; somewhat like zeh said through the nose, no clear “n” at the end)

Note that the final -s in voisins is silent, and there is no extra syllable for it.