Learn French: Leurs collègues sont très sympas. - Their colleagues are very nice.

Leurs collègues sont très sympas.

Their colleagues are very nice.

Breakdown of Leurs collègues sont très sympas.

Questions & Answers about Leurs collègues sont très sympas.

Why is there an "s" at the end of Leurs?

Because the word it describes, collègues, is plural. Even though "their" already implies multiple owners, French requires the possessive word to match the number of items being owned. Since there are multiple colleagues, you must use the plural form leurs instead of the singular leur.

Do I pronounce the "s" at the end of Leurs in this sentence?

No, it is silent. You only pronounce the -s at the end of leurs (making a "z" sound) if the very next word starts with a vowel or a silent "h" (like in leurs amis). Because collègues starts with a hard consonant, the -s stays silent.

What kind of word is sympas?

Sympas is a very common, everyday shortened version of the adjective sympathiques, meaning nice or friendly. Just like any other adjective in French, it has to match the noun it describes. Since collègues is plural, we add an -s to make it sympas.

Does this sentence talk about male or female colleagues?

We actually cannot tell from this sentence! The word collègue is spelled exactly the same for both men and women. Additionally, the plural possessive leurs and the adjective sympas are used for both masculine and feminine groups, so there are no gender clues here.