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Combien de beaux chapeaux est-ce que vous voulez essayer ?

Combien de beaux chapeaux est-ce que vous voulez essayer ?
How many beautiful hats do you want to try on?
From Lesson 80:Irregular plurals (-x)·French

Questions & Answers about Combien de beaux chapeaux est-ce que vous voulez essayer ?

Why do beaux and chapeaux end in "-x" instead of "-s"?
In French, nouns and adjectives that end in -eau (like chapeau and beau) usually form their plural by adding an -x instead of an -s. So, one beautiful hat is un beau chapeau, but multiple are de beaux chapeaux.
Since beaux chapeaux is plural, why do we use de instead of des after combien?
The phrase combien de (how many) is a fixed expression of quantity. Expressions of quantity always use de (or d' before a vowel) and never des, even when the noun that follows them is plural!
Why does beaux come before chapeaux? I thought adjectives usually came after the noun.
You are right that most French adjectives follow the noun. However, a small group of common adjectives describing Beauty, Age, Goodness, and Size (often remembered by the acronym BAGS) go before the noun. Beau (beautiful) falls under Beauty, so it comes before chapeaux.
Why is essayer left in its dictionary form (infinitive) here?
When you have two verbs working together in French, the first verb is conjugated to match the subject (vous voulez, meaning you want), and the second verb stays in its infinitive form (essayer, meaning to try on).

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