Breakdown of Je n'ai jamais vu de telles billes sur ce billard.
je
I
sur
on
avoir
to have
ne
not (used before the verb)
ce
this (before a noun)
de
of / from / any (in negative sentences) / about (concerning)
voir
to see
jamais
never / ever
tel
such, such a
la bille
the billiard ball
le billard
the pool table
Questions & Answers about Je n'ai jamais vu de telles billes sur ce billard.
Why does the sentence use de telles billes instead of des telles billes?
This is a classic French rule: when a plural adjective comes before a plural noun, the indefinite article des changes to de. Since the adjective telles comes before the plural noun billes, we use de instead of des.
How do we know to use telles here instead of another form like tel or tels?
Does the adjective tel always come before the noun it describes?
The English translation says 'billiard balls', but the French just says billes. Why isn't the word billard used to describe the balls themselves?
In French, bille is the specific noun used for a hard, solid ball, such as a marble or a pool ball. You don't need to explicitly say billes de billard (billiard balls) because the word billes already implies it naturally in this context, especially since the pool table (ce billard) is mentioned in the very next breath.
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