Learn Hardcore French: Je compare ce roman et ce film. - I compare this novel and this movie.

com- → /kɔ̃/ (a nasal on sound, like in bon)
-pare → /paʁ/ (the final e is silent, r is pronounced in the French way, in the back of the throat)

The whole sentence:

Je compare ce roman et ce film. → /ʒə kɔ̃.paʁ sə ʁɔ.mɑ̃ e sə film/

Why is it ce roman and not cet roman or cette roman?

Ce / cet / cette / ces are all forms of the demonstrative adjective this / that:

ce
- masculine singular noun starting with a consonant
  - ce roman, ce film, ce livre
cet
- masculine singular noun starting with a vowel or silent h
  - cet homme, cet ordinateur, cet hôpital
cette
- feminine singular noun
  - cette voiture, cette histoire
ces
- any plural noun (masculine or feminine)
  - ces romans, ces femmes

Roman is masculine, starts with r (a consonant), so you must use ce roman.

Why is roman masculine? Is there a rule?

Noun gender in French is largely arbitrary and must be memorized:

un roman (a novel) → masculine
un film (a film) → masculine

There are some patterns, but many common nouns don’t follow easy rules. It’s best to learn them with their article:

un roman
un film

So the demonstratives follow that gender:

ce roman
ce film

Can I say ce livre instead of ce roman?

Yes, but the meaning changes slightly:

un roman = a novel (a specific type of book, usually fiction, long narrative)
un livre = a book (general term)

So:

Je compare ce roman et ce film. → I compare this novel and this film.
Je compare ce livre et ce film. → I compare this book and this film.

Both are correct grammatically; use the one that matches what you mean.

Why is there no article like le or un before roman and film?

The word ce already includes the idea of “this/that” and replaces an article. You don’t stack another article in front of it.

un roman = a novel
ce roman = this novel (cannot say ce un roman)

In French, demonstratives (ce/cet/cette/ces) and articles (un/une/le/la/les) are mutually exclusive before a single noun:

❌ ce le roman
✅ ce roman
✅ le roman
✅ un roman

Could I say Je compare ce roman avec ce film? What’s the difference between et and avec here?

Both are possible, but they are used a bit differently:

Je compare ce roman et ce film.
- Simply lists the two things being compared.
- Very neutral, common in French.
Je compare ce roman avec ce film.
- Emphasizes the relationship between the two elements.
- Slightly more explicit: “I compare this novel with this film.”

In everyday French, comparer X et Y is more frequent than comparer X avec Y, but avec is not wrong.

In English I’d say “compare this novel with this film”. Why doesn’t French use à here, like je compare ce roman à ce film?

French actually allows several patterns:

Comparer X et Y
- Je compare ce roman et ce film.
- Very common and natural.
Comparer X à Y
- Je compare ce roman à ce film.
- Also correct; focuses slightly more on setting one thing against the other.
Comparer X avec Y
- Je compare ce roman avec ce film.
- Also correct; “with”.

All three are grammatically fine. In many contexts, comparer X et Y is the most neutral and most frequent.

Does je compare mean “I compare” or “I am comparing”? How do I say the difference?

French present tense covers both English forms:

Je compare ce roman et ce film.
- can mean I compare this novel and this film (habitually)
- or I am comparing this novel and this film (right now)

If you really want to stress that it’s happening right now, you can say:

Je suis en train de comparer ce roman et ce film.
→ I’m in the middle of comparing this novel and this film.

But in many contexts, simple je compare is enough, and the situation will show if it’s habitual or right now.

Could I leave out je like in Spanish sometimes? For example, just say Compare ce roman et ce film?

In standard French, you almost never drop the subject pronoun in normal sentences. You must say:

✅ Je compare ce roman et ce film.
❌ Compare ce roman et ce film. (would only work in very specific, imperative-like contexts, and even then it sounds odd)

Subject pronouns (je, tu, il, elle, nous, vous, ils, elles) are normally obligatory in French.

Why not ces romans or ces films? How would the sentence change in the plural?

The given sentence is talking about one novel and one film:

ce roman = this novel (singular)
ce film = this film (singular)

In the plural, you would say:

Je compare ces romans et ces films.
→ I compare these novels and these films.

Changes:

ce → ces for both nouns (plural demonstrative)
roman → romans
film → films

The verb compare stays the same because the subject is still je.

Is there any liaison in ce roman et ce film when speaking?

Pronunciation details:

ce roman → /sə ʁɔ.mɑ̃/ (no liaison)
et → /e/ (no liaison before ce)
ce film → /sə film/

There is no required liaison between:

roman and et
et and ce

So you pronounce each word separately:
/ʒə kɔ̃.paʁ sə ʁɔ.mɑ̃ e sə film/

Is there a difference between Je compare ce roman et ce film and Je fais une comparaison entre ce roman et ce film?

Yes, but mostly in style, not in basic meaning.

Je compare ce roman et ce film.
- Simple, direct verb.
- Neutral, very common.
Je fais une comparaison entre ce roman et ce film.
- Uses a noun (comparaison) and the support verb faire.
- Slightly more formal or heavy; often used in academic or written style.

Both mean that you are making a comparison, but je compare is more straightforward.