French language Q&A Forum

Why wasn't "d'ici minuit" an acceptable translation for "by midnight"?

In the sentence which begins as "As for Grandad, he would slump into...", there are several acceptable choices for "slump into", including s'effondrer and s'affaler.  I chose s'écrouler based on a definition in Wordreference.  This was not accepted.  Should it have been?

Why does "important" and "magnifique" come before the nouns here? -

Usually the adjectives go after the noun.

1. Dominé par une magnifique abbaye construite en l’honneur de Saint-Michel.

2. C’est un important centre religieux.

Does soi-mêmes with an 's' also exist? Can you give some examples? How does it differ from soi-même without 's'?

- Dans ce cas, on est soi-même responsable. [one is responsible oneself.]

- Dans ce cas, on est soi-mêmes responsable. [we are ourselves responsible.] Is it correct to write it with an "s" (similar to vous-même(s) or nous-mêmes for plural meanings)?