Log inSign up

Assoiffé, le chameau a bu toute l'eau.

Assoiffé, le chameau a bu toute l'eau.
Thirsty, the camel drank all the water.
From Lesson 454:Detached adjectival phrases·French

Questions & Answers about Assoiffé, le chameau a bu toute l'eau.

Why is Assoiffé placed at the beginning of the sentence with a comma?
This is a detached adjective phrase (l'apposition détachée). By placing Assoiffé at the start of the sentence, it expresses an implied cause or reason without needing a conjunction like parce que. It implies 'Because it was thirsty, the camel...' or simply 'Thirsty, the camel...'.
Does Assoiffé have to agree with the subject of the sentence?
Yes, even though it is detached from the main clause, the adjective or past participle must agree in gender and number with the noun it describes. Since le chameau is masculine singular, Assoiffé remains masculine singular. If the subject were la girafe, it would be Assoiffée.
The noun for thirst is soif, so how does it become the adjective assoiffé here?
The adjective assoiffé (thirsty or parched) is created by adding the prefix a- and the past participle suffix -é to the noun soif. This is a common pattern for turning nouns into adjectives in French, similar to how peur (fear) becomes apeuré (frightened).
Why does the sentence use toute l'eau instead of just toute eau?
When tout means 'all of the' or 'the whole', it must be followed by a definite article (le, la, les, or l'). Using toute eau without the article would mean 'any water' or 'every water', which completely changes the meaning.

Learn Assoiffé, le chameau a bu toute l'eau and more in French

All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.

  • ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
  • ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
  • ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free
Start learning French →