Question 1

Why is there a des before the animals? In English we just say "dogs and cats".

Accepted Answer

In English, we often drop the article for plural nouns. In French, you almost always need an article before a noun! des is the plural of un or une (a/an). Think of it as meaning "some," even though we don't usually translate it that way in English.

Question 2

Do I pronounce the "s" at the end of chiens and chats?

Accepted Answer

No, the -s added to make most regular French words plural is completely silent. When listening, the main way you know someone is talking about more than one dog or cat is because you hear the plural word des instead of the singular un.

Question 3

Do I have to repeat des for both animals? Could I just say des chiens et chats?

Accepted Answer

You must repeat it! In French, you cannot share an article across a list of nouns like we sometimes do in English. You have to put the correct article before every single noun: des chiens et des chats.

Question 4

I learned that "this is" or "it is" is c'est. Why does this sentence start with ce sont?

Accepted Answer

c'est is used when the noun that comes after it is singular (like C'est un chien for "This is a dog"). Because we are pointing out plural nouns in this sentence, the verb changes to match. Ce sont is the plural form, meaning "these are" or "those are".

Ce sont des chiens et des chats.

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