Breakdown of J'ai besoin de mon peigne et de mes ciseaux.
je
I
et
and
de
of / from / any (in negative sentences) / about (concerning)
mon
my
Questions & Answers about J'ai besoin de mon peigne et de mes ciseaux.
Why do we have to say de mes ciseaux instead of just et mes ciseaux?
This sentence highlights a strict French rule: the prepositions à, de, and en must be repeated before every item in a list. Since the expression is avoir besoin de (to need), that de has to be restated before the second item, even though we do not repeat the preposition in English.
Why doesn't the second de combine with mes to form des?
The preposition de only contracts with the definite articles le and les (becoming du and des). It never contracts with possessive adjectives like mes, tes, or ses. Therefore, it remains two separate words: de mes.
Is the French word for scissors always plural?
If the second item in the list started with a vowel, would the repeated de still contract?