Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching French grammar and vocabulary.
Questions & Answers about Février est un petit mois.
Why is petit translated as "short" here instead of "small"?
Why does petit come before mois? I thought French adjectives usually go after the noun.
You are right that most French adjectives go after the noun. However, there is a small group of common, short adjectives that go before the noun. A helpful trick is to remember that adjectives describing Beauty, Age, Goodness, and Size go before the noun. Since petit describes size, it comes before mois.
Mois ends with an "s". Does that mean it is plural in this sentence?
No, it is singular here, which we can tell because it uses the singular word un (a). The French word for month, mois, just naturally ends in an "s" even when there is only one. When you want to say "months" in the plural, the spelling stays exactly the same (des mois). Remember that the final "s" is silent!