elle est née
The English phrase "she was born" is translated into French as elle est née.
This phrase is used to state the time or place of a female person's birth.
Which one should you use?
To say "he was born", you change the subject to il and remove the extra e from the past participle to get il est né.
How does it change in a sentence?
The phrase uses the auxiliary verb être (to be) rather than avoir (to have). Because the subject is the feminine elle, the past participle née must end in e to ensure agreement.
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers often mistakenly use the verb avoir (to have) to form this phrase, such as elle a née. However, être is required in French.
Did you know?
- If you were writing about a person's birth in a very formal or historical context, you might see the word née used as a title. In English, it is often used to indicate a woman's maiden name, such as 'Mrs. Smith, née Jones'.
- The word née shares the exact same Latin ancestor, 'nāta', as the English word 'native', linking the act of birth to the concept of being from a specific place.
- While 'she was born' is a passive expression in English, the French elle est née literally translates to 'she is born'.
Examples in context
- Elle est née en Suisse.She was born in Switzerland.This sentence is useful for stating the country where elle est née occurred.Tatoeba #4765041 by sacredceltic, translation #1335477 by CN
- Elle est née en février.She was born in February.This sentence is useful for stating the month in which elle est née.Tatoeba #9157177 by Julien_PDC, translation #9773029 by traeton
- Savez-vous où elle est née ?Do you know where she was born?This sentence is useful for asking a question about where elle est née.Tatoeba #2188670 by Aiji, translation #1490717 by niceguydave
- Madame Dupont est née le 5 septembre 1982.Mrs. Dupont was born on September 5, 1982.
- 24 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Hugo and Chloé are talking about a new colleague.
- HugoD'où vient ta nouvelle collègue ?Where is your new colleague from?
- ChloéElle est née au Canada.She was born in Canada.
- HugoC'est génial ! Elle parle anglais alors ?That's great! So she speaks English?
- ChloéOui, c'est sa langue maternelle.Yes, it is her native language.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries elle, est, née, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
