Ce grand meuble en noyer a seulement une petite rayure.

Questions & Answers about Ce grand meuble en noyer a seulement une petite rayure.

The current lesson is about certes... mais. How could we use that structure here to highlight the contrast between the size of the furniture and the size of the scratch?
You could rephrase it as: Certes, ce meuble en noyer est grand, mais il a seulement une petite rayure. This uses the lesson's structure to acknowledge the first fact (its large size) while giving more argumentative weight to the second (the minor damage).
Why do we use en for en noyer (walnut)? Could we use de?
When talking about the physical material something is made of, en is the most common and natural choice in everyday French. You can use de (like un meuble de noyer), but it sounds slightly more formal or literary.
Why do both adjectives (grand and petite) come before their nouns here?
They both describe size. Remember the BAGS rule (Beauty, Age, Goodness, Size) from earlier levels: these common, short adjectives are exceptions to the general rule and are placed before the noun rather than after it.
Could we put seulement somewhere else, like before the verb?
No, in French, adverbs like seulement almost never go between the subject and the conjugated verb. It naturally sits right after the verb a.

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