Learn French: Elle a mis une écharpe autour du cou. - She put a scarf around her neck.

Elle a mis une écharpe autour du cou.

She put a scarf around her neck.

Breakdown of Elle a mis une écharpe autour du cou.

Questions & Answers about Elle a mis une écharpe autour du cou.

Why does it say du cou instead of de son cou for 'her neck'?

In French, when it is obvious whose body part is being discussed, you usually use the definite article (le, la, les) instead of a possessive adjective like son or sa. Since she is the one putting on the scarf, French just says she put it around 'the' neck, which translates naturally to 'her neck' in English.

Where does the du in autour du cou come from?

The phrase for 'around' is autour de. Because the word for neck is masculine (le cou), the preposition de and the article le contract to form du. Remember that you can never say de le in French.

Does a mis just mean 'to put', or does it mean 'to wear'?

The verb mettre means 'to put', but when talking about clothing, it specifically means 'to put on'. The phrase elle a mis means 'she put on'. If you want to say she is already wearing the scarf, you would use the verb porter instead.

I have also learned the word foulard for scarf. Could I use it here?

You could, but it changes the meaning slightly. An écharpe is a thick, warm winter scarf, usually made of wool. A foulard is a lighter, decorative scarf made of silk or thin cotton.