Learn French: Au printemps, les oiseaux chantent.

Au printemps, les oiseaux chantent.

In spring, the birds sing.

Breakdown of Au printemps, les oiseaux chantent.

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Questions & Answers about Au printemps, les oiseaux chantent.

Why is it au printemps instead of en printemps?

In French, most seasons use the preposition en (like en été for summer, en automne for autumn, and en hiver for winter). However, spring is the only exception! You always have to say au printemps.

Why do we say les oiseaux when the English translation is just "birds"?

In French, when you are talking about a general category or making a general statement, you must use a definite article (le, la, or les). Since we are talking about birds in general here, we need les before oiseaux.

How do you pronounce les oiseaux, and is there a connection between the words?

Yes, there is a mandatory link (called a liaison) between the s in les and the vowel o at the start of oiseaux. It is pronounced like a "z", so you say "lay-zwah-zo".

Why doesn't oiseaux end in an "s" for the plural?

Nouns ending in -eau (like oiseau, meaning bird) form their plural by adding an x instead of an s. Both the singular oiseau and the plural oiseaux sound exactly the same; you only know it's plural because of les and the verb ending.