Breakdown of Sont-ils prêts à porter des survêtements kaki ?
être
to be
des
some (plural indefinite)
ils
they (masculine/mixed)
prêt
ready
porter
to wear
à
to (introducing an infinitive after an adjective)
le survêtement
the tracksuit
kaki
khaki
Questions & Answers about Sont-ils prêts à porter des survêtements kaki ?
Why isn't there an "s" at the end of kaki to match the plural survêtements?
Because kaki is a color adjective derived from a noun. In French, colors that come from things like fruits, flowers, or elements (like marron, orange, or in this case, the dusty earth that gives us kaki) are invariable. This means they never change their spelling to agree in gender or number with the noun they describe.
Why do we use à in prêts à porter?
The adjective prêt (ready) requires the preposition à when it connects to an infinitive verb, meaning "ready to do something." Note that if you were connecting it to a noun instead, you would use pour, as in prêts pour le sport (ready for sports).
Is survêtements the only word for tracksuits?
Is the inversion in Sont-ils typical for everyday conversation?
Subject-verb inversion like Sont-ils is grammatically correct and very common in written or formal French. In casual spoken French, people usually prefer to use Est-ce qu'ils sont prêts... or simply use a statement with a rising intonation: Ils sont prêts... ?
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