Learn Hardcore French: Sur ce réseau social, son profil est simple, et il répond aux questions du forum. - On this social network, his profile is simple, and he answers questions on the forum.

Dans suggests being inside something in a more physical or enclosed sense (in a box, in a room, in a country). You could say dans ce réseau in some very technical or figurative contexts (inside the network’s structure), but for everyday “on this social network / on this site”, French uses sur.

Why is it ce réseau social and not cet réseau social or cette réseau social?

The demonstrative adjective has to match the gender and number of the noun:

réseau is masculine singular → ce réseau
réseaux (plural) → ces réseaux
réseau also starts with a consonant sound (/ʁ/), not a vowel, so you don’t use cet.

Cet is only for masculine singular nouns that start with a vowel or silent h:

cet homme, cet arbre, cet hôtel.

Cette is for feminine singular nouns:

cette voiture, cette idée.

So ce réseau social is the only correct form here.

Why do we say son profil instead of sa profil, even if the person might be female?

In French, son / sa / ses agree with the thing owned, not with the owner’s gender.

profil is masculine singular → you must use son profil.
If the noun were feminine singular, you’d say sa page, sa photo.
Plural, regardless of gender, becomes ses profils, ses photos.

So son profil can mean his profile, her profile, or their profile (singular “they”), depending on context. The form sa profil is always incorrect because profil itself is masculine.

Why is simple placed after profil (…son profil est simple), not before it?

Most French adjectives normally come after the noun: un profil simple, un livre intéressant, une voiture rouge.

Some very common adjectives (like grand, petit, beau, bon, mauvais, jeune, vieux) often come before the noun: un petit livre, une belle maison.

Simple can change meaning depending on position:

un simple profil = just a profile, nothing more than a profile (restrictive, almost “mere”)
un profil simple = a profile that is straightforward, not complicated.

In your sentence, son profil est simple means “his/her profile is not complicated,” so simple naturally comes after profil.

Is the comma before et in …, son profil est simple, et il répond… correct in French?

Often, French does not put a comma before et when joining two clauses:

More typical: Sur ce réseau social, son profil est simple et il répond aux questions du forum.

However, you can add a comma before et for stylistic reasons, to mark a stronger pause or rhythm, especially in more literary or careful writing. It’s not a serious grammar mistake, but in neutral, everyday prose most teachers would recommend omitting that comma here.

Why is it il répond aux questions and not just il répond les questions, like English “he answers the questions”?

The verb répondre in French requires the preposition à:

répondre à quelque chose = to answer something
répondre à quelqu’un = to answer someone.

So you must say:

il répond aux questions (to the questions)
il répond à la question (to the question)
il répond aux utilisateurs (to the users).

You cannot say il répond les questions; that sounds incorrect to native speakers. English “answer something” often translates as répondre à quelque chose.

What exactly is aux in aux questions du forum?

Aux is a contraction of à + les:

à + les questions → aux questions.

French always contracts à + le / les:

à + le → au (e.g. au forum)
à + les → aux (e.g. aux questions).

So il répond aux questions literally means “he answers to the questions.”

Why is it du forum and not de le forum?

Here again, French has a mandatory contraction:

de + le → du
de + les → des.

So:

de le forum must become du forum
de les forums must become des forums.

Du forum means “of the forum” or “from the forum” depending on context; in this sentence it’s “the forum’s questions” or “the questions of the forum.”

Could we also say les questions sur le forum instead of les questions du forum? Is there a difference?

Yes, you can say both, but there is a nuance:

les questions du forum = questions of the forum → the forum’s own questions, typically the questions that appear in or belong to that forum (more “genitive”/possessive).
les questions sur le forum = questions on the forum → questions that are posted on that forum (focus on physical/virtual location).

In many everyday contexts, both will end up meaning almost the same thing, but du forum sounds a bit more like “the forum’s questions,” while sur le forum emphasizes where the questions are posted.

What tense is est and répond here, and how does it compare to English?

Both est (from être) and répond (from répondre) are in the présent de l’indicatif (present indicative).

French present can express:

English simple present:
- Il répond aux questions. = He answers the questions (regularly).
English present continuous:
- Il répond aux questions. = He is answering the questions (right now).

Context decides which English tense you pick; French uses the same form répond for both meanings.

Who does il refer to in et il répond aux questions du forum? Could we omit il?

In this sentence, il refers to the same person whose profile we’re talking about (the owner of son profil).

Unlike Spanish or Italian, French normally requires an explicit subject pronoun. You cannot drop il just because it’s the same subject as before:

Correct: Son profil est simple et il répond aux questions.
Incorrect: Son profil est simple et répond aux questions.

So il must be present, and the listener uses context to know whether it means he, she, or they (singular).

How do you pronounce the tricky parts like réseau social and questions du forum?

Approximate pronunciations (French-style, using English spelling cues):

réseau → “ray-zo”
- ré- like “ray”
- -seau like “zo” (the eau is pronounced like “oh”; the final -u is silent).
social → “so-syal”
- final -l is pronounced; c is like s, not k.
questions → roughly “kess-tyon”
- qu = k, ti before on → sounds like “ssy” or “styon” depending on accent; a good neutral approximation is “kess-tyon.”
du forum → “dyu fo-rum”
- du = “dyu” (like dyoo),
- forum is very close to English “fo-rum” but with a slightly shorter, flatter o.

There is no liaison you must make between questions and du in casual speech; many speakers say [kɛs.tyɔ̃ dy] without linking the final s.