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Questions & Answers about Tes parents aiment la salade.
Why is it tes and not ton or ta?
- The possessive agrees with the noun that is owned, not with the owner.
- parents is plural, so you must use tes (your, plural, informal).
- Singular examples: ton père (masculine), ta mère (feminine).
- Vowel exception: with a feminine noun starting with a vowel or mute h, use ton for ease, e.g., ton amie.
When would I say vos parents instead of tes parents?
- Use vos when you are addressing more than one person, or when you are addressing one person formally with vous.
- Informal, one person: tes parents. Formal/you-plural: vos parents.
Why does the verb end in -ent (aiment) if that part isn’t pronounced?
- aiment is the third-person plural (they) of aimer in the present.
- The ending -ent is silent in speech but required in writing.
- Singular vs plural:
- Ton père aime la salade.
- Tes parents aiment la salade. (same pronunciation of aime/aiment)
How do I pronounce the whole sentence naturally?
- Rough guide: teh pah-RAHN zem lah sah-LAHD.
- Tips:
- parents ends with a nasal vowel; the final -ts is silent.
- In careful speech there’s a liaison between parents and aiment: the s in parents sounds like a z (parents aiment → …z-…).
- aiment sounds like èm.
- salade ends with a clear d sound.
Why is it la salade (with the) when English just says salad?
- With verbs of preference like aimer, adorer, préférer, détester, French uses the definite article to talk about things in general.
- So: J’aime le chocolat, Ils détestent la pluie, Tes parents aiment la salade.
Could I say de la salade, les salades, or une salade here?
- Not for a general liking. Use:
- de la salade with consumption: Ils mangent de la salade (they’re eating some salad).
- les salades if you mean salads as a category or several kinds: Ils aiment les salades composées.
- une salade for a single salad dish or a head of lettuce: Ils prennent une salade.
- For a general like/dislike with aimer, keep the definite article: la salade.
How do I turn this into a yes–no question?
- Three common ways:
- Intonation: Tes parents aiment la salade ?
- Est-ce que: Est-ce que tes parents aiment la salade ?
- Inversion (more formal): Tes parents aiment-ils la salade ? (note the added pronoun -ils after the verb)
How do I say it in the negative?
- Tes parents n’aiment pas la salade.
- Because aiment starts with a vowel, ne becomes n’: n’aiment.
How do I replace la salade with a pronoun?
- Since la salade is definite and feminine singular, use la, which becomes l’ before a vowel:
- Tes parents l’aiment.
- Negative: Tes parents ne l’aiment pas.
- If you had a partitive like de la salade, you’d replace it with en: Ils en mangent.
Does aimer mean like or love?
- With things (food, activities), aimer = like.
- With people, aimer often means love.
- To soften or strengthen:
- aimer bien = quite like
- aimer beaucoup = like a lot
- adorer = love (for things)
- détester = hate
Does salade only mean salad?
- It can mean a salad dish or lettuce, depending on context.
- Grocery context: une salade often = a head of lettuce.
- More specific word for the plant: la laitue.
- Idiom note: raconter des salades = to tell tall stories/nonsense.
Why not say les tes parents?
- French doesn’t stack determiners. You choose one: a possessive (tes) or a definite article (les), never both.
- Correct: tes parents or les parents (the parents, in general), but not les tes parents.
Is parent ever singular?
- Yes: un parent exists, but it can mean a parent or a relative.
- mes/tes/vos parents almost always means “(my/your) mother and father” as a pair.