Question 1

How does the near future work in the phrase vont dire?

Accepted Answer

To express that something is going to happen in the near future, French uses the conjugated verb aller (to go) followed by an infinitive (an unconjugated verb, which is the form you find in the dictionary). Here, vont is the conjugated form of aller, and dire (to say) is the infinitive. Together, they mean 'are going to say'.

Question 2

Why do we use vont here instead of another form of aller?

Accepted Answer

Vont is the form of aller that goes with ils or elles (they). Because les enfants (the children) is a plural group, it acts just like ils (they). Therefore, we say les enfants vont (the children are going to).

Question 3

Is the 's' at the end of Les pronounced in this sentence?

Accepted Answer

Yes, it is! Normally, the 's' at the end of les is silent. However, because the next word enfants starts with a vowel, you must link the two words together when speaking. This connection is called a liaison, and it makes the 's' sound like a 'z'.

Question 4

Doesn't the adjective usually come after the noun in French? Why is it joyeux Noël?

Accepted Answer

You are right that most French adjectives come after the noun! However, short, common adjectives that describe goodness, age, beauty, or size (often remembered as BANGS) generally come before the noun. Joyeux (merry or happy) is one of these exceptions and acts as a set greeting here.

Question 5

Why isn't joyeux capitalized like it is in English?

Accepted Answer

In English, we capitalize both words in 'Merry Christmas'. In French, only the name of the holiday itself (Noël) gets a capital letter. The adjective joyeux stays lowercase unless it happens to be the very first word in a sentence.

Les enfants vont dire joyeux Noël.

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