New (as in another) versus New (as in brand new)

Barrie S.C1Kwiziq community member

New (as in another) versus New (as in brand new)

In the sentence - J'achète toujours une nouvelle chemise..... the shirt is 'brand new' hence should be - J'achète toujours une chemise neuve?

Asked 3 years ago
Chris W.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor Correct answer

You'd think so, but you'd be wrong. I found that in practical French this strict distinction rarely holds. In my experience, you use nouveau/nouvelle by default unless you really want to stress that something is brand new.

Barrie S.C1Kwiziq community member

Noted - thanks Chris.

Barrie S. asked:

New (as in another) versus New (as in brand new)

In the sentence - J'achète toujours une nouvelle chemise..... the shirt is 'brand new' hence should be - J'achète toujours une chemise neuve?

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