Il a ouvert la grande armoire.

Breakdown of Il a ouvert la grande armoire.

grand
big / tall
ouvrir
to open
l'armoire
the wardrobe (f)

Questions & Answers about Il a ouvert la grande armoire.

Why is the past participle ouvert instead of ouvri?
The verb ouvrir (to open) is irregular. Even though it ends in -ir, it does not use the standard -i ending for its past participle. Instead, it becomes ouvert. Other verbs in this family behave the same way, such as offrir (to offer), which becomes offert.
Why does grande come before armoire?
Most French adjectives go after the noun, but a short list of common adjectives always goes before. A helpful trick is the acronym BAGS, which stands for Beauty, Age, Goodness, and Size. Because grande describes size, it sits right in front of the noun.
Why is it grande rather than grand?
Adjectives must match the gender of the noun they describe. The word for wardrobe, armoire, is feminine. Therefore, we add an e to the masculine grand to make it the feminine grande.
Since armoire is feminine, why doesn't the past participle ouvert get an extra e?
Because this past tense uses the helping verb avoir (to have). With avoir, the past participle only changes to match the gender and number if the direct object is placed before the verb. Here, the object (la grande armoire) comes after the verb, so ouvert stays exactly as it is.

Learn Il a ouvert la grande armoire and more in French

All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.

  • Practice with interactive exercises
  • Track your progress with spaced repetition
  • Learn at your own pace — completely free