Breakdown of Les animaux ici sont spéciaux et très originaux.
Questions & Answers about Les animaux ici sont spéciaux et très originaux.
Why is the plural of animal written as animaux instead of just adding an -s?
This sentence demonstrates a key rule in French: most nouns that end in -al in the singular change their ending to -aux in the plural. Since the singular is animal, the plural becomes animaux. Does this same -aux rule apply to the adjectives spéciaux and originaux?
Yes! Adjectives follow the same pattern as nouns. The masculine singular forms of these adjectives are spécial and original. Because un animal is a masculine word, we use the masculine plural ending -aux for the adjectives to make them match. What if we were describing a feminine plural noun instead of animaux?
The -al to -aux change only happens for masculine words. If you were describing feminine things (like les choses, the things), you would just follow the regular rule of adding an -e and then an -s. The feminine plural forms would be spéciales and originales. Why does ici come right after Les animaux instead of at the end of the sentence?
Just like in English, placing ici (here) immediately after the noun specifies exactly which animals you mean (the animals here). It works perfectly to restrict the subject right away before describing them with the verb sont. Do I pronounce the -x at the end of animaux, spéciaux, and originaux?
No, the -x at the end of these plural words is completely silent. You would only hear it if it were followed by a word starting with a vowel, which would trigger a liaison (a connecting z sound). Because of the words following them here, all three -x endings remain silent. Learn Les animaux ici sont spéciaux et très originaux and more in French
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