Why don't we need to put 'être' in front of the word 'sale' and 'en bataille'?
"Nous sommes rentrés, les vêtements tout sales et les cheveux en bataille." Is 'tout' an adverb?
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JoanKwiziq Q&A regular contributor
"Nous sommes rentrés, les vêtements tout sales et les cheveux en bataille." Is 'tout' an adverb?
This question relates to:French lesson "Using le, la, les with body parts and clothing (definite articles)"
Asked 4 years ago
Hi Joan,
As Chris said 'tout' is an adverb in this case and modifies the adjective 'sale' which means 'dirty' or in this case 'all dirty'.
The expression 'en bataille' means 'in disarray' and as in English, you wouldn't need the verb 'to be' either.
Hope this helps!
Chris Kwiziq Q&A super contributor
Yes, tout is an adverb in this context: "the clothes completely soiled" would be a possible translation.
You don't need an être in before tout or en bataille. I am sure there is a proper Grammatical term for that bit, which eludes me at the moment. I just point to the English language version which you can use as a crutch in this case: it doesn't require "being" either.
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