Learn Hardcore French: Dans la bibliothèque du quartier, une artiste peint un grand dessin sur le mur. - In the neighborhood library, a female artist is painting a big drawing on the wall.

Dans la bibliothèque emphasizes that the action is happening inside the library building.
À la bibliothèque would mean more generally at the library (somewhere there), without insisting on the idea of “inside”.

Both can be possible in other contexts, but for painting a mural on an interior wall, dans is more precise and natural.

What exactly does du quartier mean here?

Du quartier literally means of the neighborhood or of the district.

Grammatically:

de + le = du
quartier is masculine: le quartier → du quartier

So la bibliothèque du quartier = the neighborhood library (the library belonging to / serving that neighborhood).

If bibliothèque is feminine, why do we say du quartier and not de la quartier?

Because the gender of the article after de depends on the following noun, not the first one.

bibliothèque is feminine → la bibliothèque
But here we add more information: the library of the neighborhood.
The noun right after de is quartier, which is masculine: le quartier.
So: de + le quartier → du quartier

Full phrase structure:

la bibliothèque (feminine noun)
du quartier (= de + le quartier, masculine noun)
Together: la bibliothèque du quartier.

What’s the difference between quartier and voisinage, since both can be “neighborhood”?

Both can translate as “neighborhood”, but they’re not used in exactly the same way:

quartier
- Very common in everyday French.
- Refers to a specific district/area of a town or city.
- Example: le quartier latin, un quartier calme.
voisinage
- Literally “neighborhood” in the sense of “people living near you” or “vicinity”.
- More about the neighbors / surrounding area than an administrative or named district.
- Example: le bruit du voisinage (noise from the neighbors).

For a place like the neighborhood library, la bibliothèque du quartier is the natural choice.

Why is it une artiste and not un artiste?

Because une artiste tells us that the artist is female.

artiste has the same written form for masculine and feminine.
You show the gender with the article:
- un artiste = a male artist
- une artiste = a female artist

Spoken French: the un / une is often the only audible clue to whether the artist is a man or a woman.

How is the verb peindre conjugated, and why do we use peint here?

The infinitive is peindre (to paint). It’s irregular in the present tense:

je peins
tu peins
il / elle / on peint
nous peignons
vous peignez
ils / elles peignent

In the sentence, the subject is une artiste = elle, so we use the 3rd person singular form: elle peint.

So une artiste peint = an artist paints / is painting.

In English we say “is painting”. Why doesn’t French say something like est peignant or est en train de peindre?

French normally uses the simple present to express both:

habitual actions: Elle peint = She paints.
actions happening right now: Elle peint = She is painting.

You can use être en train de to insist on the “right now” aspect:

Une artiste est en train de peindre un grand dessin sur le mur.

But est peignant is not used; that kind of present participle construction is not natural French. So the normal, neutral way is simply elle peint.

Why is it un grand dessin and not un dessin grand?

In French, some adjectives usually come before the noun, especially those of:

Beauty
Age
Goodness
Size

A common memory trick is BAGS. Grand is an adjective of size, so it normally goes before:

un grand dessin = a big drawing
une grande maison = a big house

If you say un dessin grand, it sounds unusual or poetic and would often add a special, slightly odd emphasis on grand rather than simply describing the drawing.

Why is it grand and not grande before dessin?

Because dessin is a masculine noun:

un dessin (masculine) → un grand dessin
une peinture (feminine) → une grande peinture

The adjective must agree in gender and number with the noun it describes:

Masculine singular: grand
Feminine singular: grande
Masculine plural: grands
Feminine plural: grandes

What’s the difference between dessin, peinture, and tableau?

All three can refer to images, but they’re not identical:

un dessin
- A drawing (with pencil, pen, etc.).
- Can also mean “a design” in some contexts.
une peinture
- A painting (the artistic work)
- Also the substance “paint” itself.
un tableau
- Usually a framed painting or picture that you hang on a wall.
- More about the finished artwork as an object.

In your sentence, un grand dessin suggests a large drawing / design on the wall (like a big mural-style picture). Un grand tableau would sound more like a big framed painting.

Why is it sur le mur and not au mur or dans le mur?

Different prepositions give different spatial meanings:

sur le mur = on the wall, on the surface.
→ This is correct for painting a picture on the wall.
au mur = literally to the wall / on the wall, but usually used with verbs like accrocher (to hang):
- accrocher un tableau au mur = hang a picture on the wall.
- It’s more about attaching something to the wall than painting on its surface.
dans le mur = in the wall, meaning inside the wall (e.g. electrical cables, pipes):
- Les fils sont dans le mur.

So sur le mur is the natural choice for painting an image on the wall’s surface.

Why do we say le mur and not un mur or just mur with no article?

In French, you almost always need an article before a singular countable noun.

Here:

le mur = the wall (a specific wall that is known in context: a wall of that library)
un mur = a wall (any wall; not a specific one)
Bare mur without an article is generally not correct in this kind of sentence.

Because we are talking about a particular wall in that library, le mur is the natural choice.

Why is there a comma after Dans la bibliothèque du quartier and can that part go at the end of the sentence?

The comma separates an introductory location phrase from the main clause.

Dans la bibliothèque du quartier, une artiste peint…
→ In the neighborhood library, an artist is painting…

You can also put the location at the end:

Une artiste peint un grand dessin sur le mur dans la bibliothèque du quartier.

Differences:

Beginning: Dans la bibliothèque du quartier, …
→ Emphasizes the place first, sets the scene.
End: … sur le mur dans la bibliothèque du quartier.
→ More neutral, but also a bit heavier, with many details stacked at the end.

Both are grammatically correct; the original version is stylistically smoother.

Are there any important pronunciation points in this sentence (liaisons, silent letters, nasal sounds)?

Yes, a few useful ones:

dans
- Final -s is silent: sounds like dɑ̃ (nasal vowel).
bibliothèque
- Final -que pronounced like k: bibliotɛk.
du
- Sounds like dy (similar to “dyu”).
quartier
- Final -er here sounds like -ié: kar-tye.
artiste
- Final -e is silent: ar-tist.
peint
- Final -t is silent: pɛ̃ (nasal vowel).
grand dessin
- There is a liaison: the normally silent d in grand is pronounced like t before dessin → gran t-dessin.
mur
- Pronounced myr with the French u sound (lips very rounded, not like English “oo”).

These features are typical of everyday French pronunciation.