Les marchés en France sont beaux.

The markets in France are beautiful.

Breakdown of Les marchés en France sont beaux.

• être: to be
• en: in
• le marché: the market
• France: France
• beau: beautiful

Questions & Answers about Les marchés en France sont beaux.

Why is the article Les used here instead of something like Des?

Les is the definite article in French and is used when referring to specific or known things (in this case, the markets in France). Des is the indefinite plural article and would imply “some markets,” making it less specific.

Why do we use sont instead of est?

Sont is the third-person plural form of être (to be) that matches les marchés (they), while est is the third-person singular form (he/she/it is). Since we’re talking about multiple markets, we need the plural verb sont.

Why is the adjective beaux and not beau?

Beaux is the masculine plural form of the adjective beau. Because marchés is a masculine plural noun, its descriptive adjective must also be masculine plural (beaux).

Why is the adjective placed after the noun, as in marchés... sont beaux, instead of before?

Most French adjectives come after the noun. While there are exceptions (short, common adjectives can come before), beau typically follows the noun unless you’re placing it directly before a noun to form a specific phrase (like in un beau marché), but here it’s part of the predicate (after the verb).

What is the difference between en France and à France?

For countries, French generally uses en with feminine countries (like France) and au with masculine countries (like Canada). À France is incorrect because France is a feminine country, so you say en France to mean “in France.”