Sans apostrophe, cette phrase paraît moins naturelle à l’écrit.

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Breakdown of Sans apostrophe, cette phrase paraît moins naturelle à l’écrit.

• sans: without
• la phrase: the sentence
• naturel: natural

Questions & Answers about Sans apostrophe, cette phrase paraît moins naturelle à l’écrit.

Why is it sans apostrophe and not sans une apostrophe?

After sans (without), French often uses a noun without an article when speaking in a general way.

So:

• sans apostrophe = without an apostrophe
• sans sucre = without sugar
• sans problème = without any problem / no problem

You can sometimes see an article after sans, but here the article-free version is the most natural.

What does paraît mean here?

Paraît is the third-person singular form of paraître, which usually means:

• to seem
• to appear

So cette phrase paraît moins naturelle means:

• this sentence seems less natural
• or this sentence appears less natural

It is a slightly more formal or polished verb than just saying semble in some contexts, though both can often work.

Why is it moins naturelle and not moins naturel?