Question 1

How do we know stressant acts as an adjective here, and why is it after chemin?

Accepted Answer

stressant comes from the verb stresser (to stress). When a present participle (ending in -ant) is used to describe a noun, it becomes a verbal adjective. Just like most regular French adjectives, it is placed after the noun it describes.

Question 2

If stressant is an adjective, does it change its ending to match the noun?

Accepted Answer

Yes! Unlike true present participles (which never change form), verbal adjectives must agree with the noun they describe. Because chemin is masculine singular, stressant does not need any extra letters. If it described a feminine noun like route (road), it would become stressante.

Question 3

How does ne ... plus change the meaning compared to ne ... pas?

Accepted Answer

ne ... plus is a negative expression meaning no longer or not anymore. If you said Je ne prends pas ce chemin, it would simply mean I do not take this path. Using plus shows that you used to take it, but you have stopped doing so.

Question 4

Why do we use ce instead of cet for this?

Accepted Answer

chemin is a masculine noun starting with a consonant, so it takes the standard masculine demonstrative adjective ce (meaning this or that). You only use cet for masculine nouns that start with a vowel or a mute H.

Je ne prends plus ce chemin stressant.

Breakdown of Je ne prends plus ce chemin stressant.

Questions & Answers about Je ne prends plus ce chemin stressant.

Learn Je ne prends plus ce chemin stressant and more in French