Breakdown of Le chien a de grandes oreilles.
Questions & Answers about Le chien a de grandes oreilles.
Why is it de instead of des before grandes oreilles?
Usually, the plural of un or une is des (meaning some). However, in French, when an adjective comes right before a plural noun, des changes to de. Since the adjective grandes comes before oreilles, we use de. I thought adjectives normally go after the noun. Why is grandes before oreilles?
You are right that most French adjectives go after the noun! But there is a small group of common adjectives that go before it. A helpful trick is to remember them as BANGS adjectives: Beauty, Age, Number, Goodness, and Size. Because grandes describes Size, it goes before the noun. Why does grandes have an e and an s at the end?
Adjectives in French must match the noun they describe. The word for ear, oreille, is feminine, so we add an e to make the adjective feminine (grande). Because the dog has more than one ear, it is plural, so we also add an s to make it grandes. Does the spelling of grandes change how it is pronounced?
Yes! In the masculine form grand, the final d is silent. But because we added an e to make the feminine form grande (or grandes), you actually pronounce the d sound. The s at the very end stays silent. Learn Le chien a de grandes oreilles and more in French
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