Le public écoute Marie en silence.

Marie

Breakdown of Le public écoute Marie en silence.

• en: in
• écouter: to listen
• le silence: the silence

Questions & Answers about Le public écoute Marie en silence.

Why is it le public and not la public? Is public masculine?

In this sentence, public is a noun meaning “the audience” or “the public”. In French, this noun is grammatically masculine singular, so it always takes the masculine article le:

• le public = the audience / the public
• un public = an audience

There is also an adjective public / publique (public), which agrees with the noun it describes:

• un lieu public = a public place (masc.)
• une bibliothèque publique = a public library (fem.)

But when public is used as a noun meaning “audience,” it is masculine: le public.

If le public refers to many people, why is the verb écoute (singular) and not écoutent (plural)?