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Une grande sœur est toujours protectrice.

Une grande sœur est toujours protectrice.
A big sister is always protective.
From Lesson 79:Feminine adjective endings (-ère, -trice)·French

Questions & Answers about Une grande sœur est toujours protectrice.

Why does this sentence use protectrice?
Protectrice is the feminine form of the adjective protecteur (protective). In French, adjectives that end in -teur in the masculine usually change to -trice in the feminine. Because sœur (sister) is a feminine noun, the adjective must match it!
Doesn't grande usually mean 'tall'?
It does! When describing physical size, grand and grande usually mean 'tall' or 'large'. But when talking about siblings, like a sœur (sister) or a frère (brother), it translates to 'older' or 'big' (as in 'big sister').
Why is grande placed before the noun sœur?
Most French adjectives go after the noun. However, grand belongs to a small group of common, short adjectives that go before the noun. A helpful trick is the 'BAGS' rule: adjectives describing Beauty, Age, Goodness, and Size usually come before the noun.
Is the 's' at the end of toujours silent?
Yes! The 's' at the end of toujours (always) is a permanent part of its spelling and is completely silent here. You would only hear it if it linked to a vowel in the next word (called a liaison). Since the next word (protectrice) starts with a consonant, the 's' stays silent.

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