Learn Hardcore French: Cette solution n'est pas indiquée pour Marie.

This use of indiqué(e) is common in medical, technical, or formal language, where it means “medically indicated / appropriate,” or more generally “suitable / the right thing to do.”

Why does indiquée have an extra -e at the end?

The extra -e marks agreement in gender:

solution is a feminine noun (une solution).
indiqué here is used as an adjective (or past participle functioning as an adjective).
Adjectives agree with the noun they describe in gender and number.

So:

Masculine singular: indiqué
Feminine singular: indiquée ← needed here for solution
Masculine plural: indiqués
Feminine plural: indiquées

Because solution is feminine singular, we use indiquée (feminine singular form).

Is n'est pas indiquée a passive voice construction?

Grammatically, être + past participle can form a passive (e.g. Elle est aimée = “She is loved”).

In Cette solution n'est pas indiquée pour Marie, there are two ways to interpret it:

As a passive:
- “This solution is not indicated for Marie (by someone/according to some authority).”
  There is an implied agent (e.g. doctors, the guidelines).
As an adjective:
- indiquée has become more of a fixed adjective meaning “appropriate / recommended.”
- Then it’s just “This solution is not suitable for Marie,” not strongly felt as a passive.

In everyday understanding, native speakers usually feel it more as “is not suitable / recommended” than as a formal passive sentence.

Why do we say pour Marie and not à Marie?

With this sense of indiqué(e) = “suitable / recommended,” French normally uses pour:

indiqué pour quelqu'un = “suitable / recommended for someone”

Using à would suggest the other meaning of indiquer quelque chose à quelqu'un (“to point something out to someone / show something to someone”).

Compare:

Cette solution n'est pas indiquée pour Marie.
→ Not suitable for her.
On a indiqué cette solution à Marie.
→ They pointed out / showed this solution to Marie.

So pour is the right preposition when you’re talking about suitability or recommendation for someone.

Can I say Cette solution n'est pas pour Marie instead?

Yes, you can say Cette solution n'est pas pour Marie, and it is grammatically correct.

However, there is a nuance:

n'est pas pour Marie
- Very general, more informal.
- Simply “This solution is not for Marie” (not meant for her, not intended for her).
n'est pas indiquée pour Marie
- More formal and specific.
- Implies “not recommended / not appropriate (for her),” often with a professional or reasoned judgment (e.g. medical, technical, pedagogical).

So you can use n'est pas pour Marie, but you lose the sense of “professionally / officially not recommended.”

Why do we need both ne and pas to make the negative? Could we drop ne?

Standard written French uses the two-part negative:

ne
- verb + pas
n' instead of ne before a vowel or mute h.

So we get:

ne est → n'est
Cette solution n'est pas indiquée…

In informal spoken French, many people do drop ne:

Cette solution est pas indiquée pour Marie.

This is very common in speech but considered non-standard in writing. For correct written French, you should keep ne/n':

Cette solution n'est pas indiquée pour Marie.

How do you pronounce the whole sentence? Are there any liaisons?

Pronunciation (in simplified IPA-ish form):

Cette → /sɛt/
solution → /sɔ.ly.sjɔ̃/
n'est → /nɛ/ (from ne est)
pas → /pa/
indiquée → /ɛ̃.di.ke/
pour → /puʁ/
Marie → /ma.ʁi/

Spoken smoothly:

/sɛt sɔ.ly.sjɔ̃ nɛ pa ɛ̃.di.ke puʁ ma.ʁi/

Liaison:

You may hear a liaison between pas and indiquée in careful speech:
- pas indiquée → /pa‿zɛ̃.di.ke/
- The s of pas is pronounced like z linking to indiquée.

Other points:

Final -t in cette and final -s in pas are normally silent (except that s may reappear as z in the liaison).
Nasal sound in solution: -tion → /sjɔ̃/.
Nasal sound in indiquée: in → /ɛ̃/.

What tense or structure is n'est pas indiquée? Is it like English present simple?

n'est pas indiquée is:

present tense of être (est)
- past participle functioning as an adjective (indiquée)

So the structure is:

être (present)
- past participle used as adjective

In meaning, it corresponds roughly to the English present simple with “to be”:

“is not suitable / is not recommended”

So you can think of it as the French way of saying:

“is (not) [adjective]” → “is (not) indicated / suitable / recommended.”

Could we replace indiquée with another word like appropriée or adaptée?

Yes, and the sentence would still be correct, with slightly different nuances:

Cette solution n'est pas appropriée pour Marie.
- “This solution is not appropriate for Marie.”
- Fairly neutral and common in many contexts.
Cette solution n'est pas adaptée à Marie.
- More literally “not adapted / suited to Marie.”
- Often used when something is not well-suited to a person’s needs, level, or situation.
- Note the usual preposition: adapté(e) à quelqu'un.
Cette solution n'est pas indiquée pour Marie.
- Feels more technical/formal, and is very common in medical or professional advice.

All of them communicate roughly the same idea: the solution doesn’t suit Marie, but indiquée carries that “recommended by guidelines / professionals” shade of meaning.

In what other contexts can indiqué(e) be used with this meaning?

Some common patterns:

Medical / health:
- Ce médicament est indiqué pour le traitement de la fièvre.
  → “This medicine is indicated for the treatment of fever.”
- Ce traitement n'est pas indiqué chez l'enfant.
  → “This treatment is not indicated in children.”
General advice / appropriateness:
- Il n'est pas indiqué de partir si tôt.
  → “It’s not advisable to leave so early.”
- Dans ce cas, une telle réaction n'est pas indiquée.
  → “In this case, such a reaction is not appropriate.”
Fixed formal expressions (more literal / informational):
- Comme indiqué ci-dessus…
  → “As indicated above…”
- Il est indiqué que…
  → “It is stated / indicated that…”

In your sentence, it’s the “advisable / suitable / recommended” meaning, especially typical in relatively formal or professional language.