Questions & Answers about Cependant, de tels coups magistraux sont rares.
Why does the sentence use de tels instead of des tels?
In French, the plural indefinite article des usually changes to de when an adjective comes directly before the noun. Because the adjective tels comes before the plural noun coups, des becomes de. How do we know to use tels rather than tel, telle, or telles?
Tel acts as an adjective here, meaning "such," so it must agree in gender and number with the noun it describes. Since coups is masculine plural, we use the masculine plural form tels. Could I use tellement de instead of de tels?
No, they express different ideas. De tels coups means "such shots" or "shots of this kind" (focusing on the nature of the shots). If you said tellement de coups, it would mean "so many shots" (focusing on the quantity). What is the singular form of magistraux?
The singular is magistral (masterful). In French, most masculine adjectives and nouns ending in -al form their plural by dropping the -al and adding -aux. What exactly does coups mean here?
While un coup often translates to a physical blow or strike, it is a very versatile word. In sports, games like chess, or general strategy, it means a "shot" or a "move." Therefore, de tels coups magistraux refers to masterful moves or masterstrokes. Learn Cependant, de tels coups magistraux sont rares and more in French
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