Tu as absolument raison : cet ingrédient change tout.

Tu is the informal singular word for you in French. It is used with:

• friends
• family
• children
• people you know well

Vous is used for:

• formal situations
• strangers
• one person you want to address politely
• more than one person

So Tu as absolument raison sounds friendly and direct. If you wanted a formal version, you would say Vous avez absolument raison.

This is just how French expresses the idea to be right.

The fixed expression is avoir raison, literally to have reason, but the meaning is to be right.

Examples:

• Tu as raison = You are right
• J’ai raison = I am right
• Il a raison = He is right

So even though the literal wording is different from English, you should learn avoir raison as the normal French expression.

Absolument means absolutely. It strengthens tu as raison.

So:

• Tu as raison = You are right
• Tu as absolument raison = You are absolutely right

It adds emphasis and makes the agreement stronger.

Yes, French adverbs can sometimes move around a little, but not every position sounds equally natural.

In this sentence, Tu as absolument raison is very natural.

You could also hear:

• Tu as vraiment raison = You are really right
• Tu as tout à fait raison = You are completely right

French learners should remember that adverb placement is not always the same as in English, so it is best to learn common phrases as chunks. Tu as absolument raison is a good natural chunk.

French uses:

• ce before most masculine singular nouns
• cet before masculine singular nouns that begin with a vowel sound or a mute h
• cette before feminine singular nouns

Since ingrédient begins with a vowel sound, French uses cet:

• cet ingrédient
• not ce ingrédient

Other examples:

• cet homme
• cet animal
• ce livre

Ingrédient is masculine.

That is why the demonstrative adjective is cet:

• cet ingrédient

If it were feminine, you would use cette.

For example:

• cette idée = this idea

The subject is cet ingrédient, which is third-person singular: this ingredient.

The verb is changer in the present tense:

• je change
• tu changes
• il/elle/on change

Since cet ingrédient is like il, the correct form is change:

• cet ingrédient change tout

So the verb agrees with the singular subject.

Here, tout means everything.

So:

• cet ingrédient change tout = this ingredient changes everything

In context, it often has the sense of:

• this ingredient makes all the difference
• this ingredient changes the whole result

Here tout is being used as a pronoun, not as an adjective.

The colon introduces what follows as an explanation, consequence, or clarification of the first part.

So the structure is roughly:

• Tu as absolument raison = statement of agreement
• cet ingrédient change tout = explanation of why

The colon gives the sentence a slightly polished, written feel. In everyday speech, the pause would simply be heard in your voice.

A useful extra note: in French typography, a space is normally placed before a colon.

It can be both.

Literally, it means the ingredient changes everything.

But very often French uses changer tout in a broad, idiomatic way to mean:

• it makes a huge difference
• it changes the whole outcome
• it transforms the result

So the sentence may be talking about cooking, but it could also be used more generally for anything that has a big impact.

A few pronunciation points learners often notice:

• Tu as: the u in tu is a French sound that does not exist in standard English. It is not the same as too.
• raison: ends with a nasal sound, roughly ray-zon but with a nasal vowel, not a fully pronounced n
• cet: the final t is pronounced
• ingrédient: the ending is nasal as well

A rough pronunciation guide for the whole sentence is:

Tu as absolument raison : cet ingrédient change tout
roughly: ty ah ab-so-loo-mahn ray-zon: set a(n)-gray-dyah(n) shah(n)zh too

That is only approximate, but it can help you notice the main sounds.