Question 1

Why is it de nouvelles constellations instead of des nouvelles constellations?

Accepted Answer

This is the focus of this lesson! Normally, the plural indefinite article for "some" is des. However, when a plural adjective comes right before a plural noun, des is reduced to de. Since the plural adjective nouvelles comes before the noun, we must use de.

Question 2

Why is the adjective nouvelles placed before the noun instead of after?

Accepted Answer

Most French adjectives go after the noun, but a handful of common adjectives come before it. A helpful trick is the BAGS acronym, which stands for Beauty, Age, Goodness, and Size. Because "new" falls under Age, nouvelles is placed before constellations.

Question 3

Why use ce for "this" here? Shouldn't it be cet?

Accepted Answer

Télescope is a masculine noun starting with a consonant, so it takes the standard masculine demonstrative adjective ce. You only use cet when a masculine noun starts with a vowel or a mute H (for example, cet animal). If it were a feminine noun, you would use cette.

Question 4

The translation says "we see," but doesn't on mean "one"?

Accepted Answer

It can mean "one" or "people in general," but in modern, everyday French, on is actually the most common way to say "we." Just remember that even when on means "we," its verb is always conjugated in the singular third-person form (like il or elle). That is why we use voit instead of the plural voyons.

Avec ce télescope, on voit de nouvelles constellations.

Breakdown of Avec ce télescope, on voit de nouvelles constellations.

Questions & Answers about Avec ce télescope, on voit de nouvelles constellations.

Learn Avec ce télescope, on voit de nouvelles constellations and more in French