Log inSign up

Des stylos, des crayons et des cahiers sont sur la table.

Des stylos, des crayons et des cahiers sont sur la table.
Some pens, pencils and notebooks are on the table.
From Lesson 7:Plural nouns and indefinite articles (des... -s)·French

Questions & Answers about Des stylos, des crayons et des cahiers sont sur la table.

Why is des repeated three times in French when we only say "some" once in English?
In English, we can say "some pens, pencils, and notebooks," letting "some" cover all the items. In French, you cannot skip the article. You must put des in front of every single noun in a list.
Is des the exact plural of un and une?
Yes! While un and une mean "a" or "an", des is the plural for both masculine and feminine nouns. It usually translates to "some", or is sometimes just left out in English (like just saying "pens").
Do I pronounce the s at the end of stylos, crayons, and cahiers?
No, the s added to make regular French nouns plural is almost always silent. You mainly know a word is plural in spoken French because you hear a plural word like des right before it.
Why is the verb sont used here instead of est?
Sont is the "they" form of the verb être (to be), meaning "are". Because the subjects (the pens, pencils, and notebooks) are plural, they act as a "they" group, so we use sont instead of the singular est (is).

Learn Des stylos, des crayons et des cahiers sont sur la table and more in French

All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.

  • ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
  • ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
  • ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free
Start learning French →