Learn Hardcore French: Sa sœur préfère une bague simple et un collier discret autour du cou. - Her sister prefers a simple ring and a subtle necklace around her neck.

French possessive adjectives (mon / ma / mes, ton / ta / tes, son / sa / ses, etc.) agree with the thing possessed, not with the owner.

sœur is a feminine singular noun → you must use sa.
- sa sœur = his sister / her sister / its sister (depending on context)
- son frère = his brother / her brother / its brother (because frère is masculine)

From this sentence alone, you cannot tell whether it’s “his sister” or “her sister”; only the wider context of the text or conversation can tell you who the owner is.

You would only use son before a masculine singular noun (e.g. son père) or before a feminine noun starting with a vowel sound (e.g. son amie) to avoid an awkward sa amie.

Why is there no extra article in front of sœur? Why not sa la sœur?

In French, you normally use either a possessive adjective or a regular article, but not both together:

sa sœur = his/her sister
la sœur = the sister

So sa la sœur is incorrect because you’re doubling up the determiners. The possessive (sa) already plays the role that la would have.

What tense and person is préfère, and why is there an accent on it?

préfère here is:

verb: préférer (to prefer)
tense: present indicative
person: 3rd person singular (he/she/it prefers) → il/elle préfère

The accent on the first è is an accent grave. It changes the pronunciation:

préférer (infinitive) → [pre-fe-ʁe], with two é sounds
elle préfère → [pʁe-fɛʁ], with an open ɛ sound (è) in the stressed syllable

The accent also helps show the vowel change that happens in some conjugated forms of préférer (and similar verbs).

Could we say aime or aime mieux instead of préfère? Are they the same?

All three are close in meaning but not identical:

préférer = to prefer, to choose one thing over another
- Sa sœur préfère une bague simple. → She prefers a simple ring.
aimer = to like or to love, without necessarily comparing
- Sa sœur aime les bagues simples. → She likes simple rings (in general).
aimer mieux = literally “to like better”, often used as “to prefer” in everyday speech
- Sa sœur aime mieux une bague simple. → She would rather have / likes better a simple ring.

Using préférer is a bit more neutral and direct for “prefers”, and fits very well in this sentence.

Why is it une bague simple and not une simple bague? Does word order change the meaning?

Yes, for the adjective simple, position can change the meaning:

une bague simple (adjective after the noun)
- Focus on the style: the ring is plain, not fancy, not overloaded with decoration.
- This is the meaning in your sentence.
une simple bague (adjective before the noun)
- Focus on the importance: just / only a ring, nothing more.
- E.g. Ce n’est qu’une simple bague. → It’s just a ring, nothing special.

So une bague simple means “a ring whose style is simple”, while une simple bague suggests “merely a ring” (downplaying its importance).

Why is it un collier discret and not un discret collier? Can discret ever go before the noun?

Most French adjectives usually come after the noun, and discret is one of them in modern, everyday French:

un collier discret = a discreet / understated necklace
(“not flashy”, “not drawing too much attention”)

Putting discret before the noun (un discret collier) is grammatically possible in a very literary or poetic style, but it sounds unusual and a bit old-fashioned in normal speech. The natural order in standard French is un collier discret.

Why is discret written with a t at the end and no final e? Shouldn’t it agree with collier?

It does agree with collier. The forms of discret are:

masculine singular: discret
feminine singular: discrète
masculine plural: discrets
feminine plural: discrètes

In the sentence:

collier is masculine singular → the correct form is discret (with a silent final t).

You only see discrète (with -ète) when the noun is feminine singular, e.g. une robe discrète.

What is the difference in meaning between simple and discret here? They both sound like “not too fancy”.

Both adjectives convey the idea of not flashy, but with different nuances:

simple (for bague simple)
- Plain, uncluttered, no complicated design.
- Opposite of complexe, sophistiqué, chargé (overloaded).
discret (for collier discret)
- Not very noticeable, subtle, doesn’t attract too much attention.
- Opposite of voyant, tape-à-l’œil (flashy), ostentatoire.

So:

A bague simple focuses on the design being plain.
A collier discret focuses on the effect: it doesn’t draw the eye too much.

Why do we repeat the article and say une bague simple et un collier discret? Could we omit the second un?

In careful, natural French, you normally repeat the article when you list different nouns:

une bague simple et un collier discret
= a simple ring and a discreet necklace

You might sometimes see a repeated noun with a single article, e.g.

une bague et un collier → correct
but une bague simple et collier discret → sounds wrong/unfinished

Here, the nouns are different (bague vs collier), and each has its own adjective, so each element gets its own article: une for bague, un for collier.

Why is it autour du cou and not autour de le cou?

autour de is the preposition for “around”:

autour de + le cou → autour du cou
(de + le always contracts to du in French)

So:

autour de le cou → incorrect
autour du cou → correct (and required)

Other examples:

autour du doigt (around the finger)
autour du poignet (around the wrist)

Could we say autour de son cou instead of autour du cou? Does it change the meaning?

Both are grammatically correct, but the nuance is slightly different:

autour du cou
- Literally: around the neck (the neck area in general, presumed to be the subject’s own neck).
- Very common in French to use a definite article for parts of the body.
autour de son cou
- Literally: around his/her neck.
- Slightly more explicit about whose neck it is, and not quite as idiomatic in this exact sentence, but still acceptable.

French often uses le/la/les with body parts, especially when the owner is already clear from the subject:

Il met une écharpe autour du cou. → He puts a scarf around his neck.
Elle se lave les mains. → She washes her hands.

Does du here mean “of the” or “from the”? I see du used both ways.

du is the contraction of de + le, and its exact translation depends on context:

au bord du lac → at the edge of the lake
revenu du travail → come back from work

Here, autour du cou literally is “around of the neck” in French structure, but in English we just say “around the neck”. You can think of it as “around the neck”; you don’t need to force “of the” or “from the” in this case.

How do you pronounce sœur and what does the œ mean?

sœur is pronounced roughly like “sir” in English (but with rounded lips), IPA: [sœʁ].

The œ is a ligature: a combination of o + e that represents a single vowel sound.
In sœur, œ with the following u gives the sound [œ], a rounded “eu” sound like in sœur, cœur, sœur.

The word has one syllable: sœur.