Questions & Answers about Le vin de ce vignoble est meilleur.
Why is the word for "better" here meilleur and not mieux?
In French, meilleur is the comparative form of the adjective bon (good). You use it when you are describing a noun, like saying the wine is of a better quality. Mieux is the comparative of the adverb bien (well), which is used when describing how an action is done, like saying someone sings better. Does meilleur have to agree with the noun it describes?
Yes! Because meilleur acts like a regular adjective, it must match the gender and number of the noun it describes. Here, it describes Le vin (masculine singular), so it stays meilleur. If we were talking about a feminine noun like la bière (the beer), it would be meilleure. Shouldn't the adjective agree with vignoble since that noun is closest to the verb?
It actually agrees with Le vin (the wine). The subject of the sentence is the wine, and the phrase de ce vignoble (from this vineyard) just gives extra information about it. Even though vignoble is also masculine, the grammar rule is that the adjective always agrees with the core subject. Why do we use ce before vignoble?
Ce is a demonstrative adjective meaning "this" or "that." We use ce because vignoble is a masculine singular noun that starts with a consonant. If it were a feminine noun, we would use cette, and if it were a masculine noun starting with a vowel, we would use cet. Learn Le vin de ce vignoble est meilleur and more in French
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