Question 1

Why is there an s at the end of patients?

Accepted Answer

In French, adjectives have to match the noun they describe. Because the subject (the parents and children) is plural, we add an s to the adjective patient to make it plural too, giving us patients.

Question 2

"Parents" and "children" include both males and females. Does that change how patients is spelled?

Accepted Answer

It determines which plural form we use! In French, if a group contains mixed genders, the adjective defaults to the masculine plural form. The masculine singular is patient, so we just add an s to get the masculine plural patients.

Question 3

Do I pronounce the s at the end of parents, enfants, and patients?

Accepted Answer

No, the final s on these plural words is completely silent. You pronounce the singular patient and the plural patients exactly the same way. The s is just there in writing to show that the words are plural.

Question 4

How do I pronounce les enfants? Do the words blend together?

Accepted Answer

Yes! Because les ends in an s and enfants starts with a vowel, you must make a liaison (a sound link between the words). You pronounce the s in les like a "z" sound, connecting it directly to enfants.

Question 5

Why do we use sont here?

Accepted Answer

sont is the "they" form of the verb être (to be). We use it here because the subject "the parents and the children" acts as a "they" (ils). If the sentence was just about one parent, we would use the singular form est (is).

Les parents et les enfants sont patients.

Breakdown of Les parents et les enfants sont patients.

Questions & Answers about Les parents et les enfants sont patients.

Learn Les parents et les enfants sont patients and more in French