Breakdown of Je trouve que la station du nord est aussi pratique que celle du sud.
Questions & Answers about Je trouve que la station du nord est aussi pratique que celle du sud.
In this context, Je trouve que means "I think that" rather than literally "I find that."
- Je trouve que… = I think that… / I feel that… (more subjective, often about personal impressions)
- Je pense que… = I think that… (more neutral/intellectual)
You could say:
- Je pense que la station du nord est aussi pratique que celle du sud.
- Je trouve que la station du nord est aussi pratique que celle du sud.
Both are correct. Je trouve que can sound a bit more like you're giving a personal, experiential opinion.
Yes, que here is the conjunction meaning "that", introducing a subordinate clause:
- Je trouve que
- la station du nord est aussi pratique que celle du sud
→ "I think that the north station is as convenient as the south one."
- la station du nord est aussi pratique que celle du sud
In French, you must keep que in this structure; you can’t drop it the way you sometimes drop "that" in English:
- English: I think (that) the north station is… ✔ both ok
- French: Je trouve que la station du nord est… ✔
Je trouve la station du nord est… ✘ (ungrammatical in this sense)
However, you can change the structure and make la station du nord the direct object of trouve:
- Je trouve la station du nord aussi pratique que celle du sud.
Here there is no que because there is no subordinate clause; la station du nord is the direct object of trouve.
Du is the contraction of de + le:
- de + le nord → du nord
So la station du nord literally means "the station of the north" / "the northern station."
You cannot say:
- la station de le nord ✘ (never used; always contract to du)
You also see this with other masculine nouns:
- la maison du professeur (de + le professeur)
- le livre du garçon (de + le garçon)
In this sentence, nord and sud are used as common nouns/adjectives of direction, so they are normally not capitalized in French:
- la station du nord
- celle du sud
You capitalize them when they refer to specific regions or political entities:
- le Nord (the northern region / a département in France)
- l’Amérique du Sud (South America)
- le Sud de la France (the South of France, as a region)
Here we’re just distinguishing the north station from the south station, so lowercase is standard: nord, sud.
Station in French is a bit broader than English station, and its meaning depends on context:
Common uses:
- station de métro = metro/subway station
- station de bus / station de tram = bus/tram stop (less common than arrêt de bus/tram)
- station-service = petrol/gas station
- station de ski = ski resort
- station balnéaire = seaside resort
On its own, la station du nord would most naturally be understood as something like a metro or rail station on the north side, or generally the northern station, depending on previous context. The exact type of station would usually be clear from what was said earlier (e.g. talking about the metro, trains, ski resorts, etc.).
Aussi … que is the standard way to make comparisons of equality with adjectives and adverbs:
- aussi + adjective/adverb + que = as … as
So:
- aussi pratique que = as convenient as
Examples:
- Il est aussi grand que toi. – He is as tall as you.
- Elle parle aussi vite que moi. – She speaks as fast as me.
Si … que normally has other uses (e.g. si = so in exclamations: C’est si pratique ! = "It’s so convenient!"), but not for the "as … as" comparison here. So:
- la station du nord est aussi pratique que celle du sud ✔
- la station du nord est si pratique que celle du sud ✘ (wrong meaning)
Celle is a demonstrative pronoun that replaces a feminine singular noun that is already known from context:
- la station (feminine) → celle
So instead of repeating:
- Je trouve que la station du nord est aussi pratique que la station du sud.
French prefers to avoid repetition with a pronoun:
- Je trouve que la station du nord est aussi pratique que celle du sud.
Literally: “I think the north station is as convenient as the one in the south.”
Celle = the one (feminine).
Demonstrative pronouns agree in gender and number with the noun they replace:
- Masculine singular: celui
- Feminine singular: celle
- Masculine plural: ceux
- Feminine plural: celles
The original noun here is la station → feminine singular → celle.
Examples:
- la station → celle du sud (the one in the south)
- le train → celui du matin (the one in the morning)
- les stations → celles du nord (the ones in the north)
- les trains → ceux du soir (the ones in the evening)
Pratique is an adjective describing la station du nord:
- la station du nord est aussi pratique que celle du sud
You don’t need to repeat pratique after celle du sud because it’s understood:
- …aussi pratique que celle (qui est) du sud
= as convenient as the (station) in the south (is)
Also, pratique is already in the correct form:
- station is feminine singular → adjective: pratique (same spelling as masculine singular in this case)
- The verb est is singular because the subject is la station du nord, not both stations together.
If you wanted to be explicit (but less natural), you could say:
- …aussi pratique que la station du sud.
Still, you would not change the form of pratique; it already agrees with la station du nord (feminine singular).
Yes, that sentence is fully correct, and the meaning is practically the same.
Original:
- Je trouve que la station du nord est aussi pratique que celle du sud.
→ I think that the north station is as convenient as the south one.
Alternative:
- Je trouve la station du nord aussi pratique que celle du sud.
→ I find the north station as convenient as the south one.
Grammatically:
- In the original, que introduces a full clause:
que + la station du nord est aussi pratique que celle du sud - In the alternative, la station du nord is the direct object of trouve, and aussi pratique que celle du sud is the predicate (what you think about it).
In everyday speech, both are natural; the difference is more about structure than meaning.