Monet: “Iris” sold for €50 million, the most expensive artwork ever sold at auction in France

Selon France 24, c’est l’œuvre d’art la plus chère jamais vendue aux enchères en France.

Être in the present is est for a singular subject and sont for a plural one. It describes nature, state or place (“is”, “is located”). If what follows (the attribute) is a noun, adjective or prepositional phrase, it is not a passive. If a past participle follows, it is a passive (est annoncé). Headlines and summaries often use the present to describe the current situation.

Les chiffres viennent des organismes ou médias cités ; JAPANITIES ne les a pas vérifiés.

The passé composé is the most common past tense, used for “did” and “has done” — actions completed in the past. It is formed with the auxiliary avoir (a / ont…) in the present + a past participle. Past participles of -er verbs end in -é (annoncer → annoncé); learn the irregular ones (faire → fait, prendre → pris, voir → vu). In the negative, ne … pas wraps the auxiliary (n’a pas annoncé). In the news it reports facts that have already happened, such as “announced” or “voted”.

L’estimation préalable était de 22 à 30 millions d’euros.

The imparfait describes states, background, habits and actions in progress in the past (il était, elle avait, ils pensaient). Take the nous form of the present, drop -ons, and add -ais / -ais / -ait / -ions / -iez / -aient. If the passé composé gives “the event itself”, the imparfait paints “the situation at the time”.

Elle était présentée au public pour la première fois à l’occasion de cette vente.

The passive means “is done” or “is being done”. It is formed with être + past participle, which agrees with the subject in gender and number (la mesure est adoptée / les mesures sont adoptées). The agent is introduced by par (or de). In the news it is common when the event, rather than the actor, is the focus (est prévu / est annoncé / est connu).

Le 22 octobre, à Paris, « Iris » de Claude Monet a été adjugé 50 millions d’euros aux enchères.

The past passive means “was done”. Its form is present of avoir + été (past participle of être) + past participle. Été does not change, but the last participle agrees with the subject in gender and number (la loi a été votée / les textes ont été votés). It is frequent in news reporting results such as votes, decisions and announcements.

L’article ne mentionne ni la maison de ventes, ni l’ancien record, ni la collection d’origine, ni l’identité de l’acheteur ; nous ne pouvons donc pas les présenter.

Normally ne and pas wrap the verb. Before a vowel, ne becomes n’. Check which part of the sentence the negation covers. Ne … plus means “no longer”.

Selon France 24, c’est l’œuvre d’art la plus chère jamais vendue aux enchères en France.

Selon means “according to”. Put a person or organisation after it as the source. It separates facts the writer checked directly from what another body or report said. Citing a source does not turn a forecast into an accomplished fact.

L’estimation préalable était de 22 à 30 millions d’euros.

De…à… shows the start and end, “from … to …”, and is also used for changes in figures. With dates, de + le becomes du and à + le becomes au, giving forms like du 13 au 15. Check whether the interval concerns dates, times or amounts.

Le 22 octobre, à Paris, « Iris » de Claude Monet a été adjugé 50 millions d’euros aux enchères.

Le 15 octobre means “on 15 October”. Distinguish the le before a date from the le that marks a weekly habit like a weekday. Du is de + le and au is à + le, so decide the meaning from the verb and period expressions around them. Their role depends on the group: a range of dates, the date of a bulletin or another complement.

Selon France 24, le jeudi 22 octobre, lors d’une vente aux enchères à Paris, « Iris » de Claude Monet a été adjugé 50 millions d’euros.

Million and milliard are nouns, so use de before what is counted. Before a vowel it becomes d’. Mille works differently: look at the quantity as a whole instead of applying the same form.

France 24によると、22日（木）、パリの競売で、クロード・モネの『イリス』が、5000万ユーロで落札されました。

As in “LCPによると”, it shows where the information comes from. What that source reported follows. It is used differently from “私にとって”, which gives one’s own opinion.

落札額や、順位に関する表現は、記事のままです。

As in “税控除に関する採決”, it explains what the following noun relates to. It is close to “about” and is common in headlines and descriptions.

そのため、この記事では、それらを紹介できません。

ため is used for both reason and purpose. “成立ではないため” is a reason and “運転手を守るため” a purpose. Decide from the whole sentence whether what precedes is a cause or a goal.

22日、パリの競売で、クロード・モネの『イリス（アヤメ）』が、5000万ユーロで落札されました。

In “発表しました”, ました makes a verb polite past. The negative is “ませんでした”. Read the actual date together with the date and time in the text.

France 24は、フランスの競売で、いちばん高く売れた美術品になった、と伝えています。

と takes the content that is reported or explained. In “改定する方針だと報じました”, “改定する方針だ” is what the report said. Separating the content from who said it and how makes long sentences easier to read.

そのため、この記事では、それらを紹介できません。

できる is the basic verb for ability. The potential form of 受ける is 受けられる. The same られる can also be passive or honorific, so decide from the meaning of the sentence.