La râpe est petite, mais j’y râpe le chocolat très vite pour le dessert.

The grater is small, but I grate the chocolate with it very quickly for dessert.

Breakdown of La râpe est petite, mais j’y râpe le chocolat très vite pour le dessert.

• je: I
• être: to be
• petit: small, little
• pour: for

Questions & Answers about La râpe est petite, mais j’y râpe le chocolat très vite pour le dessert.

Why is râpe used twice in the sentence?

Because the two râpe forms are doing different jobs:

• La râpe = the grater → here râpe is a noun
• je râpe = I grate → here râpe is a verb

French often has words that look the same but belong to different parts of speech. In this sentence, context tells you which one is which.

Why is it la râpe and petite?

Râpe is a feminine singular noun, so it takes:

• la = the feminine singular definite article
• petite = the feminine singular form of petit

French adjectives usually agree with the noun they describe in gender and number.

So:

• un petit ... for a masculine singular noun
• une petite ... for a feminine singular noun

Here, because râpe is feminine, you get la râpe est petite.

Why is petite after est instead of directly before the noun?