Breakdown of D'où viennent ces frères sourds-muets ?
le frère
the brother
ce
this (before a noun)
venir
to come
d'où
from where
sourd-muet
deaf-mute
Questions & Answers about D'où viennent ces frères sourds-muets ?
Why do both parts of sourds-muets take a plural -s?
This is a compound adjective made up of two distinct adjectives (sourd meaning "deaf" and muet meaning "mute"). The rule is that when a compound is formed by Adjective + Adjective, both parts must agree in gender and number with the noun they describe. Since frères is masculine plural, both words get an -s.
How would this sentence change if we were talking about sisters (sœurs) instead of brothers?
Why is the verb viennent placed before the noun ces frères?
This is a structure known as "stylistic inversion." After short question words like où, d'où, quand, and comment, if the subject is a noun rather than a pronoun, you can simply put the verb before the noun. You could also use the heavier complex inversion (D'où ces frères viennent-ils ?), but stylistic inversion flows much more naturally here.
Are the final consonants in sourds-muets pronounced?
No, the -ds at the end of sourds and the -ts at the end of muets are completely silent. You only pronounce the vowel sounds at the end of each word.
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