Questions & Answers about Ce sont des magasins français.
Why is des used here? In English we just say 'These are French stores.'
In French, you cannot leave a noun without an article like we do in English. When you are talking about more than one of something in a general sense, you must use the plural indefinite article des (which translates roughly to 'some'). Do I pronounce the s at the end of magasins?
No, the s added to make regular nouns plural is silent in French. You pronounce magasins exactly the same way as the singular magasin. The word des in front of it is what tells the listener it is plural! Why doesn't français get an extra s at the end since the noun is plural?
The singular masculine word for 'French' already ends in an s (français). In French, if a masculine adjective already ends in s or x in its singular form, it stays exactly the same when it becomes plural. Why is it Ce sont and not Ils sont?
When you want to say 'These are' or 'They are' followed by a noun with an article (like des magasins), you use Ce sont. You use Ils sont when followed only by an adjective, like Ils sont français (They are French). Learn Ce sont des magasins français and more in French
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