Question 1

Why doesn't bleu marine have an -s to agree with the plural noun survêtements?

Accepted Answer

Bleu marine is a compound color adjective (made of two words), and in French, compound colors are always invariable. They never change their spelling to agree with the noun they describe, whether it is plural or feminine. So, even though survêtements is plural, bleu marine stays exactly as is.

Question 2

What is the word marine adding here, and is it a noun or an adjective?

Accepted Answer

Marine is actually a noun (meaning the navy) that is being used to modify the color bleu to specify the exact shade. Whenever a noun is used to describe a color (like orange or marron), the color becomes invariable. So bleu marine gets a double dose of the invariable rule: it is both a compound color and it uses a noun!

Question 3

What does the phrase finiront par mean, and how does that grammar structure work?

Accepted Answer

Finir par followed by an infinitive verb (like acheter) means 'to end up doing something' or 'to eventually do something'. Here, finiront par acheter translates to 'will end up buying'. It is a very common structure to express the final outcome of a situation after some time or resistance.

Question 4

Does the word survêtements literally translate to 'over-clothes'?

Accepted Answer

Exactly! Un survêtement is the standard French word for a tracksuit. It is built from sur (over) and vêtement (clothing), which makes sense since it is historically an outfit you wear over your athletic gear to stay warm.

Nos adversaires finiront par acheter des survêtements bleu marine.

Breakdown of Nos adversaires finiront par acheter des survêtements bleu marine.

Questions & Answers about Nos adversaires finiront par acheter des survêtements bleu marine.

Learn Nos adversaires finiront par acheter des survêtements bleu marine and more in French