Je regarde la vitrine du magasin avant d’entrer.

I

Breakdown of Je regarde la vitrine du magasin avant d’entrer.

• avant: before
• de: of
• du: of the

Questions & Answers about Je regarde la vitrine du magasin avant d’entrer.

Why is it la vitrine and not just vitrine?

In French, nouns usually need an article much more often than in English. So where English might say I’m looking at a shop window or I’m looking at the shop window, French very naturally uses la vitrine.

Here, la means the, because vitrine is a feminine singular noun.

• la vitrine = the display window / the shop window
• vitrine on its own would sound incomplete in a normal sentence

What exactly does vitrine mean?

Vitrine usually means a display window, especially the front window of a shop where items are shown. It is not the usual word for an ordinary house window.

Compare:

• la vitrine = shop window / display window
• la fenêtre = window in a house, room, building, etc.

So la vitrine du magasin is specifically the shop’s display window or the store window.

Why is it du magasin?