Breakdown of L'équipe de la maternité abandonne les projets mort-nés.
de
of / from / any (in negative sentences) / about (concerning)
le projet
the project
l'équipe
the team (f)
le
him, it (masculine direct object pronoun)
Questions & Answers about L'équipe de la maternité abandonne les projets mort-nés.
Why doesn't mort have an 's' in mort-nés since projets is plural?
This is a famously tricky exception! Usually in an Adjective + Adjective compound, both words agree. With mort-né, the first part (mort) agrees in gender (morte-née, mortes-nées) but traditionally never takes an 's' for the masculine plural. So, les projets (masculine plural) becomes les projets mort-nés.
Is mort acting as an adverb or an adjective here?
Does la maternité mean "the maternity ward" or "motherhood"?
It can mean both! Here, because it refers to a team of people (l'équipe de la maternité), it clearly means the physical "maternity ward" or "maternity hospital". When talking about the abstract state of being a mother, it means "motherhood".
Can mort-né be used metaphorically for things other than babies?
Yes, exactly like "stillborn" in English. You will often see mort-né used to describe plans, projects, or ideas that fail before they are even fully launched or implemented.