Le médecin explique que ce traitement est long, mais très efficace.

The doctor explains that this treatment is long, but very effective.

Breakdown of Le médecin explique que ce traitement est long, mais très efficace.

• être: to be
• ce: this
• mais: but
• que: that
• long: long
• expliquer: to explain
• très: very
• efficace: effective
• le médecin: the doctor
• le traitement: the treatment

Questions & Answers about Le médecin explique que ce traitement est long, mais très efficace.

Why is it le médecin and not le docteur? Are both correct, and how does gender work for médecin?

Both le médecin and le docteur exist, but they’re not used in exactly the same way.

• médecin is the standard, neutral word for doctor (as a profession). It’s what you’ll see in textbooks, official language, and most writing.
• docteur is often used as a form of address:
  
  • Bonjour, docteur. = Good morning, doctor.
    But as a profession, people are more likely to say médecin:
  • Il est médecin. = He is a doctor.

About gender:

• Grammatically, médecin is masculine, so you use le médecin, even if the doctor is a woman.
• To make it clear that the doctor is a woman, people may say:
  • une femme médecin (common in everyday speech)
    But the noun médecin itself usually stays masculine in form.

So in a neutral sentence like this, Le médecin explique… is the most natural choice.

What does explique que do here? Is que just “that” like in English?

Yes. In explique que ce traitement est long, the que acts as a subordinating conjunction, just like “that” in English:

• Le médecin explique que… = The doctor explains that…

It introduces a subordinate clause (ce traitement est long, mais très efficace) which is the content of what is being explained.

Important points:

• In English, you can often drop that: The doctor explains (that) this treatment is long…
  In French, you must keep que; you cannot drop it.
• expliquer que + indicative is used when you present information as a fact, not as a wish, doubt, or emotion. That’s why the verb after que is in the indicative (est) and not in the subjunctive.

Why is the verb explique in the present tense? Could you also say expliquait or a expliqué?

explique is the present tense (is explaining / explains), which works if:

• the scene is “now”: the doctor is currently explaining this, or
• it’s a general fact: That’s what the doctor (typically) explains.

You could also use:

• a expliqué (passé composé):
  Le médecin a expliqué que ce traitement est long…
  = The doctor explained that this treatment is long… (a completed past event)
• expliquait (imparfait):
  Le médecin expliquait que ce traitement est long…
  = The doctor was explaining / used to explain that this treatment is long…
  (background or repeated action in the past)

So the tense you choose depends on when the explaining happens. The grammar structure expliquer que + clause stays the same.

Why is it ce traitement and not cet traitement or cette traitement?

Traitement is:

• masculine
• starts with a consonant sound: /tʀɛt-/

For “this/that” in French (singular), you choose:

• ce
  • masculine noun starting with a consonant: ce traitement
• cet
  • masculine noun starting with a vowel or silent h: cet homme, cet hôpital
• cette
  • feminine noun (any starting letter): cette maladie

So:

• ce traitement = correct (masculine + consonant)
• cet traitement = wrong (the t is not a vowel sound)
• cette traitement = wrong (wrong gender)

Why do we say ce traitement est long and not something like ce traitement est longue?

Adjectives in French agree in gender and number with the noun.

• traitement is masculine singular.
• long is the masculine singular form.
• longue is the feminine form.

So:

• ce traitement est long = correct
• cette période est longue = this period is long (feminine noun → feminine adjective)

Forms of long:

• masculine singular: long
• feminine singular: longue
• masculine plural: longs
• feminine plural: longues

Does long here mean “slow”? How is long different from lent?

No, long here does not mean “slow”.

• long refers to duration or length in time/space:
  
  • un traitement long = a long treatment (it lasts a long time)
  • un long voyage = a long trip
• lent means slow, talking about speed:
  
  • un traitement lent = a slow treatment (it progresses slowly)
  • un train lent = a slow train

In the sentence, ce traitement est long means:

• this treatment takes a long time / has a long duration,
  not that it is slow in the sense of moving slowly.

Can you also say un long traitement? What is the difference between un long traitement and ce traitement est long?

Yes, un long traitement is correct. The difference is mostly structure and emphasis:

1. ce traitement est long

   • être + adjective
   • neutral description of the treatment: this treatment is long.

2. un long traitement

   • adjective before the noun
   • slightly more evaluative or descriptive; it sounds a bit more stylistic or literary, like “a long treatment” as part of a description.

French adjectives often go after the noun, but some common ones (including grand, petit, bon, mauvais, joli, long, etc.) can come before.
Both are grammatical; choice depends on sentence style and what you want to emphasize.

Why does French use long at all here? In English we often say “takes a long time” instead of “is long.”

French allows both patterns:

1. est long (adjective):

   • Ce traitement est long.
     = This treatment is long (in duration).

2. prend du temps (verb phrase):

   • Ce traitement prend beaucoup de temps.
     = This treatment takes a lot of time.

In English, “this treatment is long” is a bit less common than “this treatment takes a long time”, but in French ce traitement est long is perfectly natural and very common.

Why is there a comma before mais? Is that always required in French?

Yes, the comma before mais is normal and standard in French:

• …, mais … = “..., but ...”

In French punctuation:

• You normally put a comma before coordinating conjunctions like mais, ou, et, donc, or, ni, car when they link two clauses (two parts that each have a subject and verb).
• In this sentence:
  • first clause: ce traitement est long
  • second clause: (il est) très efficace (the subject ce traitement is understood)

So … est long, mais très efficace. is exactly what you want.

What exactly does mais do here, and how is it different from words like pourtant or cependant?

mais is the basic conjunction meaning “but”:

• … est long, mais très efficace.
  = … is long, but very effective.

It directly links two ideas in the same sentence.

Other contrast words:

• pourtant, cependant ≈ however, yet, nevertheless
  They’re usually adverbs and often start a new clause or sentence:
  • Ce traitement est long. Cependant, il est très efficace.

So:

• mais = “but” inside one sentence, similar to English.
• pourtant / cependant = “however / yet”, more like separate connectors, often used at the start of the next sentence or clause.

Why is it très efficace and not beaucoup efficace?

In French:

• très is used before adjectives and adverbs:

  • très efficace = very effective
  • très important = very important
  • très vite = very fast

• beaucoup is used with verbs and sometimes with nouns (with de):

  • ça aide beaucoup = that helps a lot
  • beaucoup de temps = a lot of time

So:

• très efficace = correct
• beaucoup efficace = wrong

You could say:

• Ce traitement est très efficace.
• Ce traitement aide beaucoup. = This treatment helps a lot.

What does efficace mean exactly, and does it change with gender or number?

efficace generally means effective, sometimes efficient, depending on context:

• un traitement efficace = an effective treatment
• un employé efficace = an efficient / effective employee

Agreement:

• masculine singular: efficace
• feminine singular: efficace (same spelling)
• masculine plural: efficaces
• feminine plural: efficaces

So in ce traitement est long, mais très efficace, efficace is:

• masculine singular, agreeing with traitement.

Should there be a liaison in traitement est and how do you pronounce long here?

Yes, there is a natural liaison between traitement and est:

• traitement est → pronounced like traitement-t-est
  You pronounce a /t/ sound linking the words.

For long:

• In ce traitement est long, long is masculine singular, and the final -g is silent:
  • pronounced roughly like nasal “lon” in one syllable: /lɔ̃/
• The -g is only heard in some liaisons or derived forms (e.g. longtemps is /lɔ̃tɑ̃/).

So the end of the spoken sentence sounds like:
… traitemen-t-è lɔ̃

Why is there no subjunctive after explique que? When would French use the subjunctive after que instead?

After explique que, French normally uses the indicative, not the subjunctive, because the speaker is presenting information or facts:

• Le médecin explique que ce traitement est long.
  (est = indicative)

The subjunctive is used after que when the main verb expresses:

• doubt, fear, emotion, will, necessity, possibility, etc.

Examples:

• Je doute que ce traitement soit efficace.
  I doubt that this treatment is effective.
• Il faut que ce traitement soit suivi sérieusement.
  It’s necessary that this treatment be followed seriously.

But expliquer que normally does not trigger the subjunctive, because it’s just relating what is being explained, not expressing doubt or desire.