Question 1

Why is bonne before soupe but chaude is after it?

Accepted Answer

In French, most adjectives go after the noun, like chaude (hot). However, a small group of common adjectives describing Beauty, Age, Goodness, or Size (often remembered as the BAGS rule) go before the noun. Since bonne (good) describes Goodness, it comes before soupe.

Question 2

Why are they spelled bonne and chaude instead of bon and chaud?

Accepted Answer

Adjectives must match the gender of the noun they describe. Because the word for soup (une soupe) is feminine, we add an -e to chaud to make it chaude, and bon changes to its feminine form, bonne.

Question 3

Does Nous préparons mean "We prepare" or "We are preparing"?

Accepted Answer

It means both! French doesn't have a separate "-ing" tense for actions happening right now. Nous préparons translates to "We prepare", "We are preparing", or even "We do prepare" depending on what makes the most sense in English.

Question 4

Why is it des légumes when the English translation just says "with vegetables"?

Accepted Answer

In English, we can often skip words like "some" before plural nouns, saying just "with vegetables". In French, you almost always need an article before a noun. Here, des acts as the plural of "a" or "some", so you are literally saying "with some vegetables".

Question 5

How would I say "We are having a good hot soup" using the verb prendre from this lesson?

Accepted Answer

In French, we use the verb prendre (to take/have) when talking about consuming food or drinks. If you want to say you are eating the soup rather than making it, you would use the nous form of prendre, making the sentence Nous prenons une bonne soupe chaude.

Nous préparons une bonne soupe chaude avec des légumes.

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