Tu aurais pu lire la définition avant de choisir ce synonyme.

Aurais pu lire is the conditional perfect of pouvoir followed by an infinitive.

• aurais = conditional of avoir
• pu = past participle of pouvoir
• lire = infinitive

Literally, it means would have been able to read, but in this sentence it is more naturally understood as you could have read.

In French, this structure often expresses:

• a missed possibility
• mild criticism
• hindsight

So here it suggests something like: You could have read the definition before choosing that synonym.

Because as pu lire would usually mean you were able to read or you managed to read, describing a real completed action or ability in the past.

But aurais pu lire means you could have read—something was possible, but apparently did not happen.

That is why the conditional is used here: it points to an unrealized possibility and often carries a slight tone of reproach.

Compare:

• Tu as pu lire la définition.
  = You were able to read the definition.

• Tu aurais pu lire la définition.
  = You could have read the definition.

Yes, usually it does.

Tu aurais pu... often sounds like:

• You could have...
• You might have...
• You should at least have...

So even though it is grammatically about possibility, in real use it often implies criticism.

In this sentence, the speaker is basically saying that the other person should have checked the definition first.

Because pouvoir is a modal verb, and modal verbs in French are followed by an infinitive.

So the structure is:

• avoir in the conditional: aurais
• past participle of the modal: pu
• infinitive of the main action: lire

This is the same pattern as in:

• Tu aurais pu venir. = You could have come.
• Il aurait pu comprendre. = He could have understood.

The action itself stays in the infinitive because pouvoir is the verb that is actually conjugated.

Because after avant, French normally uses de before an infinitive.

So:

• avant de + infinitive

Examples:

• avant de partir = before leaving
• avant de manger = before eating
• avant de choisir = before choosing

This is just the standard French construction.

If a full clause follows instead of an infinitive, French uses avant que:

• avant qu’il parte = before he leaves

Because avant de choisir ce synonyme is a separate infinitive phrase meaning before choosing that synonym.

The sentence has:

• the main idea: Tu aurais pu lire la définition
• a time phrase: avant de choisir ce synonyme

So de is not connected to lire. It belongs to the expression avant de + infinitive.

Because synonyme is masculine, but it begins with the consonant sound s, not a vowel sound.

French uses:

• ce before most masculine singular nouns
• cet before masculine singular nouns beginning with a vowel sound
• cette before feminine singular nouns

So:

• ce synonyme
• cet ami
• cet homme

Even though synonyme starts with the letter y in English as synonym, in French it starts with s, so ce is correct.

In this sentence, synonyme is masculine, which is why it is ce synonyme.

Many nouns ending in -e are feminine, so learners often hesitate here, but synonyme is one of the masculine ones.

You can tell from the determiner:

• ce synonyme = masculine singular

French uses articles more often than English does.

Here, lire la définition means read the definition, referring to the relevant definition of the word in question.

In English, sometimes we might say read the definition or even just check the definition, but in French the article is normally required:

• lire la définition
• consulter le dictionnaire
• choisir le bon mot

Leaving the article out here would sound wrong.

Tu is the singular informal you.

It is used with:

• friends
• family
• children
• people you know well
• sometimes peers in casual situations

If the speaker wanted to be formal or address more than one person, they would use vous:

• Vous auriez pu lire la définition avant de choisir ce synonyme.

That would mean either:

• You could have read the definition before choosing that synonym (formal singular)
• or the same addressed to several people

Yes. In many cases, ce can translate as either this or that in English.

French often does not make the same distance distinction that English does unless it wants to be more explicit.

So:

• ce synonyme can be this synonym or that synonym

If the speaker wants to emphasize:

• this one: ce synonyme-ci
• that one: ce synonyme-là

In your sentence, English will usually choose whichever sounds more natural in context.

It would not change.

Because tu does not change for gender, and aurais pu lire does not show the gender of the person being addressed here.

So the sentence stays:

Tu aurais pu lire la définition avant de choisir ce synonyme.

Gender would only become visible if there were an adjective or past participle agreeing with a direct object placed before the verb, or some other gender-marked word.

In standard pronunciation, aurais is pronounced roughly like or-eh.

The final s is normally silent.

So the sentence begins approximately like:

• Tu or-eh pu...

Also:

• pu sounds like pew but with the French u
• lire sounds roughly like leer
• définition sounds roughly like day-fee-nee-syon

A more natural French rhythm would link the words smoothly rather than pronouncing each one separately.

Not with the same meaning.

Tu pouvais lire... means something like:

• You were able to read...
• You had the possibility of reading...

It does not naturally express the same hindsight criticism as tu aurais pu lire...

If you want the idea of you could have read it, but you didn’t, then tu aurais pu lire is the right choice.

So the two are not interchangeable here.