Question 1

Why does achetés have an -s at the end even though the helper verb is avoir?

Accepted Answer

Normally, past participles do not change when used with avoir. However, there is a special rule: if the direct object comes before the verb, the past participle must agree with it. Here, the direct object is que (representing Les draps et les oreillers, which is masculine plural). Because que comes before avez achetés, we add an -s to match it.

Question 2

Why do we use que instead of qui to mean "that" in this sentence?

Accepted Answer

We use que when the word it replaces is the object of the action. Here, you bought the sheets and pillows, making them the object, while vous is the subject. If the word "that" referred to something doing an action (for example, "the pillows that are on the bed"), you would use qui.

Question 3

Is there a required liaison between vous and avez?

Accepted Answer

Yes! Because vous ends in a consonant and avez starts with a vowel, you must pronounce the -s like a "z" to connect the words. It sounds like "voo-zah-vay".

Question 4

How do we know to make chers masculine plural?

Accepted Answer

chers describes both les draps (the sheets) and les oreillers (the pillows). Both of these nouns are masculine in French, so the adjective takes the masculine plural form. Remember that in French, even if you had a mix of masculine and feminine nouns, the adjective would still default to masculine plural.

Les draps et les oreillers que vous avez achetés sont très chers.

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