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Voici les cageots que le maraîcher a laissés sur l'étal.

Voici les cageots que le maraîcher a laissés sur l'étal.
Here are the crates that the market gardener left on the stall.
From Lesson 364:Prepositions of time (dès)·French

Questions & Answers about Voici les cageots que le maraîcher a laissés sur l'étal.

Why does laissés have an s at the end even though it uses the auxiliary verb avoir?
Usually, past participles used with avoir do not agree with the subject. However, they do agree with the direct object if that object comes before the verb. Here, the direct object is que (which stands for the masculine plural noun les cageots), so we add an s to make laissés masculine plural.
Could I use qui instead of que here since we are talking about a person (the gardener)?
No, because que replaces les cageots (the crates), which is the direct object of the verb. In the clause que le maraîcher a laissés, the subject doing the action is le maraîcher. We always use que for direct objects and qui for subjects, regardless of whether they refer to people or objects.
What is the difference between a maraîcher and a jardinier?
A jardinier is a general gardener who maintains gardens, parks, or flowers. A maraîcher is specifically a market gardener or produce farmer who grows vegetables and fruits commercially to sell them, usually at a local market.
What exactly is an étal?
An étal refers to a market stall or a display stand where goods are laid out for sale, like you would see at a traditional French outdoor market. It comes from the verb étaler, which means to spread out or display.

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