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Il y a deux coffres-forts lourds dans le salon.

Il y a deux coffres-forts lourds dans le salon.
There are two heavy safes in the living room.
From Lesson 440:Plural compound nouns·French

Questions & Answers about Il y a deux coffres-forts lourds dans le salon.

Why do both halves of coffres-forts get an -s in the plural?
This sentence highlights the rule for compound nouns made of a noun plus an adjective. In French, when a compound consists of a noun (coffre) and an adjective (fort), both parts generally take the plural form. So, both words get an -s.
What if the compound noun had a verb in it, like des tire-bouchons (corkscrews)? Would the verb get an -s too?
No, and that is a crucial distinction! In French compound nouns, only nouns and adjectives can be made plural. If the compound involves a verb (like tire in tire-bouchon or grille in grille-pain), the verb part never takes an -s. Because coffre and fort are a noun and an adjective, they are both allowed to change.
How do we know whether a compound noun like coffres-forts is masculine or feminine so we can match the adjective lourds?
You look at the core noun of the compound. Since un coffre (a chest or trunk) is a masculine word, the entire compound noun coffre-fort is masculine. That is why the trailing descriptive adjective lourd takes the masculine plural form lourds rather than the feminine lourdes.
Should I pronounce the -s at the end of forts to make a liaison with lourds?
No, the -s at the end of forts is completely silent. In everyday spoken French, you do not make a liaison between a plural noun and a descriptive adjective that comes immediately after it.

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