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Ils construisent un pilier de cinq mètres de haut.

Ils construisent un pilier de cinq mètres de haut.
They are building a pillar five meters high.
From Lesson 437:Physical dimensions (de ... de long)·French

Questions & Answers about Ils construisent un pilier de cinq mètres de haut.

Why do we need the first de before cinq mètres?
In English we say a pillar five meters high, but French requires the preposition de to attach a measurement directly to a noun. Think of it as saying a pillar of five meters.
Why is there a second de before the word haut?
This is the standard French syntax for dimensions taught in this lesson. After stating the measurement (cinq mètres), you must use de plus the dimension word (haut) to specify what is being measured.
Can I use the noun hauteur (height) instead of the adjective haut (high)?
Yes! For most dimensions like height, length, and width, you can use either the adjective or the noun after the second de. So un pilier de cinq mètres de hauteur is perfectly correct and means the exact same thing.
Is there another way to order these words to describe the pillar's height?
Yes, another very common structure is noun + adjective + de + measurement. You could rewrite this as un pilier haut de cinq mètres, which mirrors the English structure a bit more closely.

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