Learn Hardcore French: Mon grand-père aime le vin blanc.

• grand-père is a masculine noun in French, so we use the masculine singular possessive adjective mon.
• The word père (father) is masculine; since grand-père means literally “big father” or “grandfather,” it inherits the masculine grammatical gender.

Why is there a hyphen in grand-père?

• In French, many compound nouns include a hyphen, especially family terms like grand-mère and grand-père.
• The hyphen separates the components of the compound (grand + père) and is the standard spelling.

Why is the phrase le vin blanc instead of du vin blanc?

• When expressing likes and dislikes with the verb aimer, French typically uses the definite article (le, la, les).
• Saying il aime le vin blanc implies a general preference or liking, rather than referring to a specific bottle or quantity.

Why is blanc after vin instead of before it?

• In French, most adjectives follow the noun. Blanc (white) is a color adjective, so it comes after vin.
• Only certain categories of adjectives (such as beauty, age, goodness, and size) tend to go before the noun. Color adjectives usually come afterward.