Paul touche la main de Marie.

Paul touches Marie's hand.

Breakdown of Paul touche la main de Marie.

• Paul: Paul
• Marie: Marie
• de: of
• la main: the hand
• toucher: to touch

Questions & Answers about Paul touche la main de Marie.

Why is it la main de Marie and not something like la Marie main, like in English “Marie’s hand”?

French normally expresses possession with de + noun, not by changing the order or adding ’s.

• la main de Marie literally = the hand of Marie → “Marie’s hand”
• The order is always [thing] + de + [owner]:
  • le livre de Paul = Paul’s book
  • la voiture de mon père = my father’s car

You never say la Marie main. Proper names of people follow de when they’re possessors.

Why is it la main and not sa main (“her hand”)?

In French, body parts are often used with the definite article (le, la, les) rather than a possessive (son, sa, ses) when it’s clear whose body part we’re talking about.

Here, the possessor is shown by de Marie:

• la main de Marie = Marie’s hand

If you wrote sa main without context, it could mean:

• his hand
• her hand

Because sa only tells you the gender of main (feminine), not of the owner. Using de Marie removes the ambiguity.

More natural patterns you’ll see a lot with pronouns:

• Paul lui touche la main. = Paul touches her/his hand.
  (literally: Paul touches to-her/to-him the hand)

Could I say Paul touche la main à Marie instead of la main de Marie?

You will sometimes see both patterns with other verbs:

• serrer la main de quelqu’un / serrer la main à quelqu’un
• baiser la main de quelqu’un / baiser la main à quelqu’un

With toucher, the most straightforward, neutral way here is:

• toucher la main de Marie

toucher la main à Marie is possible in some contexts, but sounds less standard and more regional/colloquial to many speakers. For a learner, la main de Marie is the safest and clearest choice.

Why is it de Marie and not à Marie after la main?

Here we’re not saying to Marie; we’re saying Marie’s.

• de very often marks possession:
  • le sac de Marie = Marie’s bag
  • la main de Marie = Marie’s hand

à can also indicate ownership in some fixed patterns (e.g. C’est à Marie. = It belongs to Marie), but after a body part like this, de Marie is the normal way to say whose part it is.

What tense is touche? Does it mean “touches” or “is touching”?

touche is the present tense, 3rd person singular of toucher.

French présent covers both:

• Paul touche la main de Marie.
  • Paul touches Marie’s hand.
  • Paul is touching Marie’s hand.

Context decides which English form is best; French uses the same verb form for both.

How is the verb toucher conjugated in the present tense?

toucher is a regular -ER verb. Present tense:

• je touche (I touch / I am touching)
• tu touches (you touch – informal)
• il / elle / on touche (he / she / one touches)
• nous touchons
• vous touchez (you touch – formal or plural)
• ils / elles touchent

In the sentence Paul touche la main de Marie, Paul = il, so we use touche.

What are the subject and the object in this sentence?

• Subject (who does the action): Paul
• Verb (the action): touche
• Direct object (what is being touched): la main de Marie

So structurally:

• Paul (subject) touche (verb) la main de Marie (direct object).

If I replace la main de Marie with a pronoun, what happens?

It depends what you want to replace:

1. Replace the whole phrase “Marie’s hand” (thing + owner) with a direct object pronoun:

   • Paul la touche.
     
     • la = it (feminine, singular → la main)

2. Keep the body part and replace only Marie with a pronoun:

   • Paul lui touche la main.
     
     • lui = to her / to him (indirect object)
     • la main stays as the direct object.

Both are correct, but they answer slightly different questions:

• Paul la touche. → What does Paul touch? He touches it.
• Paul lui touche la main. → Whose hand does he touch? Her/his hand.

Why is it la main (feminine) and not le main?

In French, main (hand) is grammatically feminine, so it takes la:

• la main = the hand
• une main = a hand

You just have to memorize the gender of each noun. Some common body parts and their gender:

• la main (hand)
• le bras (arm)
• la jambe (leg)
• la tête (head)
• le pied (foot)

How do you pronounce Paul touche la main de Marie?

Approximate pronunciation in English-ish sounds:

• Paul → “pol” (like pole, but shorter)
• touche → “toosh” (short oo, soft sh)
• la → “la” (as in last without the st)
• main → similar to nasal “meh(n)”, not maine in English; the n is not fully pronounced
• de → “də” (like the de in the but with d)
• Marie → “ma-ree”

All together: pol toosh la meh(n) də ma-ree.

No strong liaisons here; each word is fairly separate.

Could this sentence also mean “Paul is touching Marie (in general)”, not specifically her hand?

No. As written, it specifically says her hand:

• toucher Marie = to touch Marie (her as a person)
• toucher la main de Marie = to touch Marie’s hand

If you want the general “Paul is touching Marie”, you would say:

• Paul touche Marie.

Is toucher ever reflexive, like “to touch oneself”?

Yes. se toucher means “to touch oneself”:

• Il se touche la main.
  = He touches his own hand.

Notice the pattern:

• Il touche la main de Marie. → he touches Marie’s hand.
• Il se touche la main. → he touches his own hand.

With body parts, French often uses a reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nous, vous) plus a definite article:

• Je me lave les mains. = I wash my hands.
• Il se casse la jambe. = He breaks his leg.

How would I say this sentence in the past or future?

Same structure, change only the verb form:

• Passé composé (simple past / present perfect):

  • Paul a touché la main de Marie.
    = Paul touched / has touched Marie’s hand.

• Futur simple (will future):

  • Paul touchera la main de Marie.
    = Paul will touch Marie’s hand.

The rest (la main de Marie) stays exactly the same.