L’étouffement est dangereux.

to be

Breakdown of L’étouffement est dangereux.

• dangereux: dangerous
• l’étouffement: the choking

Questions & Answers about L’étouffement est dangereux.

What does L’ mean, and why is there an apostrophe?

L’ is the shortened form of le or la before a vowel sound.

Here, the noun is étouffement, which starts with é, so French uses elision:

• le étouffement → not used
• l’étouffement → correct

The apostrophe shows that the vowel in le has dropped.

Is étouffement masculine or feminine?

It is masculine.

So the full article is:

• le étouffement → shortened to l’étouffement

Because of the apostrophe, you cannot tell gender just by looking at l’. You have to know the noun itself is masculine.

What does étouffement mean as a noun, grammatically?

Étouffement is a noun. It comes from the verb étouffer, which can mean to suffocate, to choke, or to smother, depending on context.

The ending -ment often turns a verb into a noun, similar to how English sometimes makes nouns like movement from move.

So:

• étouffer = to choke / to suffocate / to smother
• étouffement = choking / suffocation / smothering