Marie choisit un vernis simple pour ses ongles, mais elle ne met presque jamais de parfum au travail.

Marie

Breakdown of Marie choisit un vernis simple pour ses ongles, mais elle ne met presque jamais de parfum au travail.

• elle: she
• le travail: the work
• pour: for

Questions & Answers about Marie choisit un vernis simple pour ses ongles, mais elle ne met presque jamais de parfum au travail.

Why is choisit used here instead of choisi?

Choisit is the 3rd-person singular present tense of choisir. The subject is Marie, so French uses elle choisit.

By contrast, choisi is usually the past participle, as in Marie a choisi.

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What tense is this sentence in, and what does it suggest?

The sentence is in the present indicative. In this kind of context, French often uses the present to describe habits, usual behavior, or general facts, not just what is happening right now.

So the sentence suggests this is the kind of choice Marie typically makes, and that she almost never wears perfume at work.

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What exactly does vernis mean here?

Here, vernis means nail polish.

By itself, vernis can mean varnish, polish, or lacquer depending on the context. Because the sentence says pour ses ongles, it is clearly referring to nail polish. French often shortens vernis à ongles to simply vernis when the context is obvious.

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