Où sont les nouveaux manteaux et les beaux chapeaux ?
Where are the new coats and the beautiful hats?
Breakdown of Où sont les nouveaux manteaux et les beaux chapeaux ?
être
to be
et
and
où
where
beau
beautiful / handsome
nouveau
new
le manteau
the coat
le chapeau
the hat
Questions & Answers about Où sont les nouveaux manteaux et les beaux chapeaux ?
Why do all the adjectives and nouns in this sentence end in -x instead of -s?
In French, most nouns and adjectives take an -s to become plural. However, words that end in -eau (like nouveau, manteau, beau, and chapeau) are irregular. To make them plural, you add an -x instead, giving us nouveaux manteaux and beaux chapeaux.
Do I pronounce the -x at the end of nouveaux, manteaux, beaux, and chapeaux?
I thought adjectives usually go after the noun. Why are nouveaux and beaux placed before the nouns here?
You are right that most French adjectives go after the noun. But short, common adjectives that describe Beauty, Age, Goodness, or Size (often remembered by the acronym BAGS) go before the noun. Both beau (beautiful) and nouveau (new) fall into these categories, so they come before manteaux and chapeaux.
What would happen if we used feminine plural nouns instead, like robes (dresses)? Would we still use the -eaux ending for the adjectives?
No, the -x rule for -eau endings only applies to masculine words. The feminine forms of these adjectives are nouvelle and belle. To make those plural, you just add a standard -s, giving us les nouvelles robes and les belles robes.
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