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Sa candidature est presque prête, mais elle veut la relire encore ce soir.

Sa candidature est presque prête, mais elle veut la relire encore ce soir.
Her application is almost ready, but she wants to read it over again tonight.
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Questions & Answers about Sa candidature est presque prête, mais elle veut la relire encore ce soir.

What does candidature mean in this sentence?
Here candidature usually means an application, especially for a job, program, school, or position. In some contexts it can also mean candidacy, but in a sentence like this, where something is being reread and is almost ready, application is the most natural interpretation.
Why is it sa candidature? Doesn't sa mean her?

Not exactly. In French, possessive adjectives agree with the thing possessed, not with the owner.

So:

  • sa is used with a feminine singular noun
  • candidature is feminine singular
  • therefore French uses sa

That means sa candidature can mean either his application or her application. The later pronoun elle is what shows that the person being talked about is female here.

Also, French does not use an article before the noun when there is a possessive adjective, so sa candidature is correct, not la sa candidature.

Why is it prête with an -e at the end?

Because prête agrees with candidature, which is a feminine noun.

The adjective is:

  • prêt for masculine singular
  • prête for feminine singular

So:

  • Le dossier est prêt.
  • La candidature est prête.

Even though the thing is not a person, French adjectives still agree with the noun’s grammatical gender.

Why does French use est presque prête instead of just a verb like is almost finished?

French often uses être + prêt/prête to mean to be ready. So est presque prête means is almost ready.

That is slightly different from is almost finished, because ready focuses on being prepared for use or submission, not just completed. In context, it suggests the application is nearly ready to submit, but not quite.

Why is it veut relire? Why isn’t there a word like to or de before relire?

After vouloir (to want), French uses the infinitive directly.

So:

  • elle veut relire = she wants to reread

There is no de here.

This is normal with verbs like:

  • vouloir = to want
  • pouvoir = to be able to
  • devoir = to have to

Examples:

  • Je veux partir. = I want to leave.
  • Elle peut venir. = She can come.
  • Nous devons attendre. = We have to wait.
Why is it la relire and not relire la?

Because la is a direct object pronoun, and in French object pronouns usually come before the verb they belong to.

Start with the full version:

  • Elle veut relire sa candidature.

Replace sa candidature with la:

  • Elle veut la relire.

In a two-verb structure like veut relire, the pronoun goes before the infinitive it belongs to:

  • Je vais le voir.
  • Nous voulons la finir.
  • Elle veut la relire.

So la relire is the normal order.

What does relire mean exactly? Is it just lire?

Relire means to reread or to read over again.

It is made from:

  • lire = to read
  • re- = again

So relire often suggests reading something again in order to check, review, or proofread it.

In this sentence, it probably means she wants to go over her application one more time before submitting it.

Who does elle refer to? Could it refer to la candidature, since that noun is feminine?

Grammatically, elle can refer to a feminine noun, but in this sentence it clearly refers to a woman, not to candidature.

Why? Because of meaning:

  • la candidature can be almost ready
  • but la candidature cannot want to reread anything

So elle veut must refer to a female person, probably the applicant.

This is a good example of how you often need both grammar and context to understand a pronoun in French.

What does encore mean here? Is it still or again?

Here encore most naturally means again, one more time, or still in the sense of yet again.

That can feel a little repetitive because relire already includes the idea of reading again. But French often does this naturally:

  • relire = reread
  • encore = again / one more time

So the combination suggests something like:

  • she wants to reread it again tonight
  • she wants to go over it once more this evening

It adds emphasis to the idea of another review.

What does ce soir mean, and why is there no preposition before it?

Ce soir means this evening or tonight.

French often uses time expressions like this without a preposition:

  • ce matin = this morning
  • cet après-midi = this afternoon
  • ce soir = this evening / tonight

So:

  • elle veut la relire ce soir = she wants to reread it tonight

You do not say à ce soir in this kind of sentence. À ce soir exists, but it means something like see you tonight, which is a different use.