Ils habitent dans un nouveau village français.

From Lesson 27:Adjective placement·French

Questions & Answers about Ils habitent dans un nouveau village français.

Why is nouveau before the word village, but français is after it?
In French, most adjectives come after the noun they describe, which is why français comes after village. However, a small group of common adjectives comes before the noun. These usually describe beauty, age, goodness, or size. Since nouveau describes age (new), it goes before the noun.
Is nouveau always the word for 'new'?
The word changes depending on the noun it describes. Because village is masculine and singular, we use nouveau. If the noun were feminine, like a house (une maison), you would use the feminine form nouvelle.
Why isn't français capitalized like 'French' is in English?
In French, nationalities are not capitalized when they are used as adjectives describing a noun, like in un village français. You only capitalize them when they are used as nouns referring to people, like un Français (a Frenchman).
Do I pronounce the '-ent' at the end of habitent?
No, you do not. For regular verbs ending in '-er' like habiter, the '-ent' ending for ils (they, masculine) and elles (they, feminine) is completely silent. You just pronounce the base of the word.
Why do we use dans instead of à for 'in'?
We usually use à for named cities, like à Paris. However, dans means 'inside' or 'in' and is used here because we are talking about a specific place accompanied by the word un (a). You live dans un village (in a village).

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