Le câble du micro est cassé.

to be

Breakdown of Le câble du micro est cassé.

• cassé: broken
• du: of the
• le micro: the microphone

Questions & Answers about Le câble du micro est cassé.

Why is it du micro and not de le micro?

In French, de + le always contracts to du.

• de le micro → du micro

So du micro literally means of the microphone or the microphone’s.
This is the standard way to show possession or a close relationship between two nouns:

• le câble du micro = the microphone’s cable / the cable of the microphone
• la porte de la voiture = the car door
• les clés du prof = the teacher’s keys

Why is it le câble and not un câble?

Le means the, while un means a.

• Le câble du micro est cassé = The microphone cable is broken (we have a specific cable in mind, usually the one belonging to this microphone).
• Un câble du micro est cassé would mean a cable of the microphone is broken, which sounds odd in most contexts, because a typical mic has one main cable.

Native speakers usually assume a particular, known cable here, so they use le.

Why is it micro and not microphone?