Cette icône ouvre un logiciel simple que Marie utilise pour corriger ses textes.

Because icône is a feminine noun in French, so it takes the feminine demonstrative adjective cette.

French demonstratives are:

• ce = this/that before most masculine singular nouns
• cet = this/that before a masculine singular noun that starts with a vowel or silent h
• cette = this/that before feminine singular nouns
• ces = these/those for plural nouns

So:

• cet ordinateur = this computer
• cette icône = this icon

Even though icône begins with a vowel, cet is only for masculine nouns.

Yes, icône is normally feminine: une icône.

So you would say:

• une icône
• cette icône
• l’icône est petite

This is something learners often have to memorize, since grammatical gender in French does not always match what feels natural in English.

Because the subject is singular: Cette icône.

The verb ouvrir is conjugated here in the present tense, third person singular:

• j’ouvre
• tu ouvres
• il/elle ouvre
• nous ouvrons
• vous ouvrez
• ils/elles ouvrent

Since cette icône is singular, French uses ouvre.

So the structure is:

• Cette icône ouvre... = This icon opens...

In this sentence, ouvre is the simple present, so the most natural translation is opens.

French present tense often covers both ideas that English separates into:

• opens
• is opening

But in a sentence like this, where you are describing what an icon does in general, opens is the best match.

So:

• Cette icône ouvre un logiciel simple = This icon opens a simple piece of software

Both are possible, but they do not feel exactly the same.

In French, most adjectives come after the noun, so:

• un logiciel simple = a simple software program / a simple piece of software

If you put simple before the noun:

• un simple logiciel

that often means something more like just a software program, a mere software program, or it gives extra emphasis.

So in your sentence, un logiciel simple most naturally describes the software as being easy or uncomplicated.

Logiciel means software or software program.

Depending on context, it can be translated as:

• software
• a piece of software
• a software program
• sometimes simply program

So in this sentence:

• un logiciel simple = simple software / a simple software program

French also has programme, but logiciel is the more specific word for software.

Here, que is a relative pronoun meaning that or which.

It links un logiciel simple to the extra information about it:

• un logiciel simple
• que Marie utilise
• pour corriger ses textes

So the sentence means:

• a simple piece of software that Marie uses to correct her texts

The que stands for logiciel and acts as the direct object of utilise.

You can think of it like this:

• Marie utilise ce logiciel.
• le logiciel que Marie utilise

In English, that is often optional, but in French que must be expressed.

Because the object is already represented by que.

In the clause que Marie utilise, the word que already means that/which and refers back to un logiciel simple. So adding l’ would repeat the object incorrectly.

Correct:

• un logiciel que Marie utilise

Not correct here:

• un logiciel que Marie l’utilise

A useful way to test it is to rewrite the sentence:

• Marie utilise ce logiciel.

When you turn ce logiciel into a relative clause, it becomes:

• le logiciel que Marie utilise

Because pour is followed by the infinitive when you want to express purpose: in order to, to.

So:

• pour corriger = to correct
• pour lire = to read
• pour écrire = to write

In your sentence:

• Marie utilise [ce logiciel] pour corriger ses textes
• Marie uses [this software] to correct her texts

French does this very often:

• Je viens pour aider. = I’m coming to help.
• Il travaille pour gagner de l’argent. = He works to earn money.

Grammatically, ses can mean his, her, or sometimes its, depending on who the owner is.

French possessive adjectives agree with the thing possessed, not with the gender of the owner.

Since textes is plural, French uses ses:

• son texte = his/her text
• ses textes = his/her texts

In this sentence, because the subject is Marie, we understand:

• ses textes = her texts

But the form ses itself does not specifically mean her; context tells you that.

Because ses textes shows possession: the texts belong to Marie.

• ses textes = her texts
• les textes = the texts

So:

• Marie utilise [le logiciel] pour corriger ses textes = Marie uses the software to correct her texts.
• Marie utilise [le logiciel] pour corriger les textes = Marie uses the software to correct the texts.

The second version would not clearly say whose texts they are.

Because the sentence says ses textes — her texts — meaning more than one text.

French marks the plural on:

• the possessive adjective: ses
• the noun: textes

Compare:

• son texte = her text / his text
• ses textes = her texts / his texts

The final -s in textes is usually not pronounced, but it is still required in writing.

A careful pronunciation would be roughly:

Set ee-kohn oovr uh lo-zhee-syel sam-pl kuh ma-ree oo-tee-leez poor ko-ree-zhay say tekst

A few useful points:

• cette sounds like set
• icône sounds like ee-kohn
• ouvre sounds like oovr
• logiciel sounds like lo-zhee-syel
• utilise sounds like oo-tee-leez
• corriger sounds like ko-ree-zhay

There is also a common liaison in:

• ses textes

Many speakers pronounce this like say tekst, but in careful speech you may hear a slight z link before a vowel in other contexts. Here, since textes begins with t, there is no liaison there.

Also note that many final consonants are not pronounced, but in texte / textes, the kst sound is pronounced.

The sentence has three main parts:

1. Cette icône ouvre un logiciel simple
   = main clause

2. que Marie utilise
   = relative clause describing un logiciel simple

3. pour corriger ses textes
   = purpose phrase explaining why Marie uses it

So the structure is:

• This icon opens a simple piece of software
• that Marie uses
• to correct her texts

Seeing the sentence in chunks can make it much easier to understand.