Question 1

Why do beaux and oiseaux end in -x instead of -s?

Accepted Answer

In French, most nouns and adjectives that end in -eau (or -eu) in the singular form their plural by adding an -x instead of an -s. So, the singular beau becomes beaux, and oiseau becomes oiseaux.

Question 2

Do I pronounce the -x at the end of beaux and oiseaux?

Accepted Answer

Normally, the -x at the end of a word is silent, which is true for oiseaux. However, because beaux is an adjective directly followed by a noun starting with a vowel, you make a spoken connection called a liaison. The -x links to the next word and makes a z sound.

Question 3

I thought adjectives usually go after the noun. Why is it beaux oiseaux?

Accepted Answer

You are right that most French adjectives come after the noun. However, short, common adjectives describing Beauty, Age, Goodness, or Size (often called the BAGS rule) go before the noun. Since beaux describes beauty, it is placed before oiseaux.

Question 4

The translation says in the garden, but the French uses du jardin. Why not dans le jardin?

Accepted Answer

While dans le jardin literally means inside the garden, French often uses de (of) to link animals or objects to their typical location. Du is the mandatory contraction of de and le. So, les oiseaux du jardin literally translates to the birds of the garden.

Question 5

Why is the word for all spelled tous here instead of tout?

Accepted Answer

The word for all has to match the gender and number of the noun it describes. Since les oiseaux is masculine and plural, you must use the masculine plural form tous.

Elle admire tous les beaux oiseaux du jardin.

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