Tes parents aiment la salade.

Your parents like salad.

Breakdown of Tes parents aiment la salade.

• aimer: to like
• tes: your
• le parent: the parent
• la salade: the salad

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.