Breakdown of En déballant ce carton, j'ai trouvé de beaux abat-jour.
je
I
avoir
to have
ce
this (before a noun)
de
of / from / any (in negative sentences) / about (concerning)
trouver
to find
beau
beautiful / handsome
le carton
the cardboard box
en
while / by (with gerund)
déballer
to unpack
l'abat-jour
the lampshade (m)
Questions & Answers about En déballant ce carton, j'ai trouvé de beaux abat-jour.
Why doesn't abat-jour have an "s" at the end in the plural here?
Abat-jour is a compound noun made of a verb (abattre, to block or strike down) and a noun (jour, meaning daylight). In traditional French grammar, the verb part of a compound noun never takes an -s. The noun part only takes an -s if the meaning logically involves multiples. Because a lampshade blocks "light" as an uncountable, general concept, jour stays singular. Note: Under the 1990 spelling reform, writing des abat-jours is also accepted, but the traditional spelling seen in this sentence is still extremely common!
Why does the sentence say de beaux instead of des beaux?
This is a classic rule that is easy to forget: the plural indefinite article des drops its -s and becomes de (or d') when it is immediately followed by a plural adjective that comes before the noun. Because the adjective beaux precedes the noun abat-jour, des must become de.
What does the structure En déballant indicate here?
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