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Ont-ils fini par acheter ces vestes marron foncé ?

Ont-ils fini par acheter ces vestes marron foncé ?
Did they end up buying these dark brown jackets?
From Lesson 395:Invariable color adjectives (marron, bleu clair)·French

Questions & Answers about Ont-ils fini par acheter ces vestes marron foncé ?

Why don't marron or foncé have an 's' to agree with the plural noun vestes?
In French, compound colors (colors made of more than one word, like marron foncé or bleu clair) are invariable, meaning they never change to agree with the noun's gender or number. On top of that, marron is derived from a noun (a chestnut), which is another rule that makes a color invariable!
What does the phrase fini par acheter mean exactly, and why use par?
The structure finir par followed by an infinitive verb is a fixed expression that translates to 'to end up doing something' or 'to finally do something'. If you used fini d'acheter instead, it would just mean they 'finished buying' the jackets.
Could I say Est-ce qu'ils ont fini instead of Ont-ils fini?
Yes! Ont-ils uses subject-verb inversion, which is very common in written French or formal speech. In everyday spoken French, you would normally hear Est-ce qu'ils ont fini or just the statement with a questioning tone: Ils ont fini par... ?

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