Breakdown of Le soldat d'étain à la moustache finit par tomber.
de
of / from / any (in negative sentences) / about (concerning)
finir
to finish
le
him, it (masculine direct object pronoun)
la
her, it (feminine direct object pronoun)
tomber
to fall
par
by, through / out of (motive)
le soldat
the soldier
l'étain
the tin (m)
à
with (having as a feature)
la moustache
the moustache
Questions & Answers about Le soldat d'étain à la moustache finit par tomber.
Why does this sentence use d' for the tin but à la for the moustache?
Why isn't 'with the moustache' translated as avec la moustache?
While avec translates to 'with' in the sense of accompaniment or using a tool, it is not used for physical features or identifying traits. For those, French relies on the preposition à. This is why 'the girl with blue eyes' is la fille aux yeux bleus, and our soldier here is le soldat à la moustache.
Could we say le soldat en étain instead of using de?
Why do we say finit par tomber instead of finit de tomber?
The verb finir changes meaning depending on the preposition that follows it. Finir par followed by an infinitive is a set structure meaning 'to end up doing something' or 'to finally do something.' If the sentence used finir de tomber, it would literally mean the soldier 'finished falling' as if completing a task.
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