La majorité rejette la résolution, mais un copropriétaire s’abstient.

French usually needs an article before a noun in this kind of sentence. So la majorité means the majority.

Using no article here would sound incomplete in standard French. In English, you can sometimes say things a bit more freely, but in French a noun like majorité normally comes with an article: la majorité, une majorité, etc.

Here, la majorité refers to the majority of voters or owners involved in the decision.

Because majorité is grammatically singular. Even though it refers to several people, the subject itself is one singular noun: la majorité.

So French uses a singular verb:

• la majorité rejette
• not la majorité rejettent

This is similar to English using the majority rejects in more formal grammar, even though everyday English often treats collective ideas more flexibly.

Rejette comes from the verb rejeter, meaning to reject.

In the present tense, some forms of rejeter double the t before a silent e sound:

• je rejette
• tu rejettes
• il/elle/on rejette

But:

• nous rejetons
• vous rejetez
• ils/elles rejettent

So the double t is just part of the normal spelling pattern of this verb in several forms.

La résolution means the resolution, so it refers to a specific resolution already known in the context, such as one being discussed in a meeting.

If you said une résolution, that would mean a resolution, which sounds less specific.

In meeting, legal, or administrative language, French often uses the definite article when everyone knows which proposal is being discussed.

Not here. In this sentence, résolution means a formal resolution, motion, or proposal, especially in a meeting, assembly, or legal context.

So this is not about a personal promise like a New Year’s resolution. It is the kind of resolution that people vote on.

Copropriétaire means co-owner.

It is often used in property or condominium contexts, where several people each own part of a building or residence. Depending on context, it might refer to:

• a co-owner of shared property
• a condo owner
• a unit owner in a jointly owned building

So un copropriétaire means one co-owner.

Un copropriétaire means a co-owner or one co-owner: an unspecified individual.

That fits the sentence because it introduces one person from the group without identifying exactly which one.

If you said le copropriétaire, it would sound like the co-owner, meaning a specific, already identified person.

S’abstient means abstains.

In voting contexts, s’abstenir means to abstain, that is, to choose not to vote either for or against something.

So:

• rejette = votes against / rejects
• s’abstient = abstains

Because the verb is s’abstenir, which is a pronominal verb. That means it normally uses a reflexive-style pronoun:

• je m’abstiens
• tu t’abstiens
• il/elle s’abstient
• nous nous abstenons

So the s’ is not optional here. It is part of how the verb is used.

Also, the apostrophe appears because se becomes s’ before a vowel sound:

• se abstient → s’abstient

It is pronounced approximately like sab-STYAN.

A few helpful points:

• the s’ is pronounced like a normal s sound attached to the next word
• abstient has a nasal ending, like many French words ending in -ien / -ient
• the final t is normally silent

So you do not pronounce it like abstain-t.

French often uses the present tense to report what happens in a meeting, vote, article, or official record.

So La majorité rejette la résolution can mean something like:

• The majority rejects the resolution
• The majority has voted against the resolution
• The majority votes against the resolution

The present tense is very natural in summaries, headlines, minutes, and formal descriptions of decisions.

Mais means but.

It introduces a contrast:

• La majorité rejette la résolution = the majority rejects the resolution
• mais un copropriétaire s’abstient = but one co-owner abstains

So the sentence contrasts the general outcome with one person’s different voting choice.

Yes, in many contexts that is the practical meaning.

Literally, la majorité is the majority, but in natural English it often corresponds to:

• most people
• most of the voters
• most of the co-owners

The exact group depends on context. In this sentence, it is probably the majority of the people entitled to vote on the resolution.

The word order is quite standard French:

• La majorité = subject
• rejette = verb
• la résolution = direct object
• mais = conjunction
• un copropriétaire = new subject
• s’abstient = verb

So it follows a normal subject + verb + object pattern, then adds a second clause after mais.

In this kind of formal or voting context, rejeter is often the most natural choice for to reject a motion, proposal, or resolution.

• rejeter une résolution = to reject a resolution
• refuser often means to refuse something

Both can sometimes overlap, but rejeter sounds especially appropriate for official decisions, votes, and formal texts. So this sentence uses the most idiomatic verb for that setting.