Learn Hardcore French: Avant le débat final, les étudiantes comparent leurs opinions sur la politique et la philosophie. - Before the final debate, the female students compare their opinions about politics and philosophy.

étudiant = male student (or grammatically masculine)
étudiante = female student
étudiants = a group of male students, or a mixed group (masculine plural is the “default”)
étudiantes = a group of only female students (feminine plural)

So les étudiantes tells you that the group consists only of women. If it were a mixed group or only men, you would normally see les étudiants instead.

How do I know when to use leur vs leurs, and why is it leurs opinions here?

Leur / leurs agree with the thing possessed, not with the number of people who possess it.

leur = “their” + one thing
leurs = “their” + several things

Examples:

Ils aiment leur professeur. – They like their teacher. (one teacher)
Ils aiment leurs professeurs. – They like their teachers. (several teachers)

In the sentence:

The possessed noun is opinions (more than one opinion).
Therefore, you must use leurs: leurs opinions (“their opinions”).

Could it be leur opinion instead of leurs opinions? Is that wrong?

Both structures are grammatically possible, but they don’t mean quite the same thing:

leur opinion = their opinion (as a single, shared opinion)
- Suggests one collective opinion held by the group.
leurs opinions = their opinions (each person has their own, or there are several distinct opinions)

In a debate context, the idea is usually that each student has their own opinions, so leurs opinions is more natural. Leur opinion would suggest they’ve already reached one common position.

Why is the verb comparer in the present tense (comparent) if in English we’d say “are comparing”?

French uses the simple present much more broadly than English.

Elles comparent can mean:
- “They compare” (habitually),
- or “They are comparing” (right now).

French does have a form être en train de + infinitive (e.g. elles sont en train de comparer) to insist on “right now, in progress”, but it’s used much less often than the English continuous.

So les étudiantes comparent is the natural way to express “the students are comparing” in most contexts.

Why is it Avant le débat final and not something like avant du débat final?

Avant is a preposition that is followed directly by a noun (or noun phrase) without de:

avant le dîner – before dinner
avant la réunion – before the meeting
avant le débat final – before the final debate

You only use avant de before a verb in the infinitive:

avant de manger – before eating
avant de commencer le débat – before starting the debate

So avant du débat is incorrect here; the correct structure is avant le débat.

Why is it le débat final and not le final débat?

In French, most adjectives normally go after the noun:

un débat intéressant – an interesting debate
une décision importante – an important decision
le débat final – the final debate

Only a relatively small group of common adjectives usually precede the noun (e.g. beau, grand, petit, bon, mauvais, jeune, vieux, etc.). Final is not normally one of those; it typically follows the noun.

So le final débat sounds wrong; the standard order is le débat final.

Why is final not written finale here?

Adjectives must agree in gender and number with the noun they describe:

débat is masculine singular (le débat)
Therefore the adjective must also be masculine singular: final

Forms of final:

masculine singular: final – un débat final
feminine singular: finale – une séance finale
masculine plural: finaux – des débats finaux
feminine plural: finales – des séances finales

So le débat final is correct; le débat finale would be wrong because finale is feminine.

Why do we say la politique and la philosophie with la, when in English we just say “politics and philosophy” without “the”?

French often uses the definite article (le, la, les) when talking about things in a general sense, especially abstract concepts, fields of study, or activities:

J’aime la musique. – I like music.
La politique est compliquée. – Politics is complicated.
La philosophie pose beaucoup de questions. – Philosophy raises many questions.

In English, we normally drop “the” for general concepts; in French, it’s standard to keep le / la / les. So:

leurs opinions sur la politique et la philosophie
= their opinions about politics and philosophy (in general)

Leaving out the articles (sur politique et philosophie) would sound ungrammatical.

Why is it sur la politique and not de la politique with opinions?

With nouns like opinion, avis, idée, French very commonly uses the preposition sur to mean “about / on”:

une opinion sur un sujet – an opinion on a subject
des idées sur l’avenir – ideas about the future
son avis sur la question – his/her opinion on the question

You can also say une opinion sur la politique or une opinion politique, but sur is the default preposition here.

De is also possible in some contexts (des opinions de droite / de gauche = right‑wing / left‑wing opinions), but that slightly changes the structure and meaning. For “opinions about X”, sur X is the most typical pattern.

What’s the difference between avant and avant que, and why is it just avant here?

avant
- noun (or noun phrase):
- avant le débat – before the debate
- avant le dîner – before dinner
avant que
- clause (subject + conjugated verb):
- avant que le débat commence – before the debate begins
- avant qu’il arrive – before he arrives

So in this sentence, you’re just referring to the event the final debate as a noun, so you use avant le débat final.

If you wanted to focus on the action of beginning, you’d say something like:

Avant que le débat final ne commence, les étudiantes comparent leurs opinions…

Note that avant que normally triggers the subjunctive (commence), which is another reason learners often prefer the simpler structure with avant + noun when possible.

Can the phrase Avant le débat final go at the end of the sentence instead of at the beginning?

Yes. Both of these are grammatically correct:

Avant le débat final, les étudiantes comparent leurs opinions sur la politique et la philosophie.
Les étudiantes comparent leurs opinions sur la politique et la philosophie avant le débat final.

Putting Avant le débat final at the beginning emphasizes the time frame (“Before the final debate…”). Putting it at the end sounds a bit more neutral. French word order is quite flexible with time expressions like avant, après, ce matin, etc.

How are les étudiantes comparent and leurs opinions pronounced? Are there any liaisons or silent letters?

Key points:

les étudiantes
- les is pronounced /le/ on its own, but here there is a liaison:
  - les étudiantes → /lez‿e.ty.djɑ̃t/
  - You hear a /z/ linking les and étudiantes.
étudiantes
- The final -s is silent: /e.ty.djɑ̃t/
comparent
- Final -ent on third person plural verbs is silent: /kɔ̃.paʁ/
leurs opinions
- leurs → /lœʁ/ (final -s silent)
- No liaison before opinions here; you just say /lœʁ ɔ.pi.njɔ̃/

So the relevant parts sound roughly like:
les étudiantes comparent leurs opinions → /lez‿e.ty.djɑ̃t kɔ̃.paʁ lœʁ ɔ.pi.njɔ̃/.