ELONIO
Log inSign up

Les trésors précieux qu'ils cachent sont très anciens.

Les trésors précieux qu'ils cachent sont très anciens.
The precious treasures that they hide are very old.
From Lesson 123:Direct object relative pronouns (que)·French

Questions & Answers about Les trésors précieux qu'ils cachent sont très anciens.

Why is it qu' here instead of qui?
In this sentence, qu' is the shortened form of que (meaning "that"). We use que because the treasures are the object being hidden, while ils (they) is the subject doing the hiding. You would use qui only if the treasures themselves were doing the action. We drop the "e" and add an apostrophe because ils starts with a vowel.
Why doesn't précieux have an extra "s" at the end to match the plural trésors?
The adjective précieux already ends in an -x in its masculine singular form. In French, masculine words that end in -s, -x, or -z stay exactly the same when they become plural. So, it is un trésor précieux for just one, and des trésors précieux for multiple.
I notice précieux comes after trésors. Don't some adjectives come before the noun?
Yes, but only a specific small group! You might remember the "BAGS" rule (adjectives about Beauty, Age, Goodness, and Size, like petit or bon) which go before the noun. Most other French adjectives, including précieux, come directly after the noun they describe.
Do I need to pronounce a liaison between très and anciens?
Yes, you do! Since très ends in an -s and anciens starts with a vowel, you connect them when speaking. You link the words with a "z" sound, sounding like "trè-zan-ciens".

Learn Les trésors précieux qu'ils cachent sont très anciens and more in French

All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.

  • ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
  • ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
  • ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free
Start learning French →