This lesson is about forming compound nouns -noun + à + verb-infinitive ' without a hyphen (as in the many examples kindly provided in your response). Is the construction in this lesson an alternate way to create a compound noun? What is the grammatical construction or rules, being followed by the examples I gave? I came across them in a french textbook and would like to know where I can find an explanation governing this use. Additional examples are: "Une voiture à vendre", "Un pull à laver". Merci d'avance!
In English we often simply squash two words together to make a compound noun ("dining room"), whereas in French the two words are always joined by a preposition (à, de, en).
Look at these examples:
une planche à repasser
an ironing board
une machine à laver
a washing machine
une machine à coudre
a sewing machine
une pomme à cuire
a cooking apple
Compound nouns in English formed with -ing + noun are often used to indicate function (e.g. "dining room"). In French, these typically take the form noun + à + verb-infinitive. For example, salle à manger.
Also have a look at Compound nouns formed with prepositions à, de, en
Learn more about these related French grammar topics
Préposition
Phrasal/Prepositional
Examples and resources
Q&A Forum 4 questions, 6 answers
Hi Andrea,
Compound nouns make another noun which stands alone in meaning so:
une planche à repasser = an ironing board ( a board for ironing)
une machine à laver ( or un lave-linge) = a washing machine ( a machine for washing clothes)
une machine à sécher le linge ( or un sèche-linge) = a tumble dryer
Une machine à écrire = a typewriter
Des pinces à linge = pegs
The second part which is often a verb in the infinitive denotes the purpose of the item.
In the examples you give -
Une voiture à vendre = a car for sale
à vendre is an attribute of the noun it refers to as in the other examples -
Un pull à laver = a sweater that needs washing
Des travaux à faire = Work to be done
Not the same but difficult to explain, hope this helps!
Andrea asked:View original
Thanks Cécile but....
This lesson is about forming compound nouns -noun + à + verb-infinitive ' without a hyphen (as in the many examples kindly provided in your response). Is the construction in this lesson an alternate way to create a compound noun? What is the grammatical construction or rules, being followed by the examples I gave? I came across them in a french textbook and would like to know where I can find an explanation governing this use. Additional examples are: "Une voiture à vendre", "Un pull à laver". Merci d'avance!
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AndreaKwiziq community member
Are these examples of compound nouns?
Une maison à vendre.
des travaux à faire,
Asked 2 months ago
Hi Andrea,
Compound nouns don't normally have a preposition but a hyphen to link them together making them into a new noun -
Here are some examples of combinations of nouns, verbs, adverbs, adjectives, and past participles:
Un croque-monsieur
Un couvre-lit = A bedspread
Un perce-neige = A snowdrop
Un après-midi = An afternoon
Le savoir-faire
Une belle-sœur = A sister in law
Un coffre-fort = A safe
Un passe-partout = A master key
etc.
Hope this helps!
Andrea asked:View original
Are these examples of compound nouns?
Une maison à vendre.
des travaux à faire,
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DmitriKwiziq community member
Clairez-vous s'il vous plaît
So, in all literal senses, the way to further describe an item's purpose is to pair it with the action being done with/upon it. ( i.e. une planche à voile = a [ plank ] to be flown [ surf ] upon ) That is odd to say the least, but French grammar seems to be very similar to archaic English grammar. I suppose the Norman invasion is to blame for that, n'est-ce pas? When the aristocracy speak one language, and the peasants speak another, I suppose they found a nice halfway point between the two, which then evolved into modern English, a confusing tangle of rules, exceptions, and counterrules, all presided over by 5+ official institutions.
French is much nicer. The rules are odd, but fairly consistent. It is managed by the Àcadémie Française , and no other, has considerably less mixing, and is only truly messed up in Créole French [ The pitiful excuse for French the people of Louisiana speak ]. So even if I had to traverse the entire french-speaking world, I would find little more than dialect ( i.e. Quebècoise, Guiyanaise, Walloon, Langues d'Occitan et d'Oeil . ) Bíen faites, francophones!
Asked 5 months ago
Interesting conversation chaps!
From memory, I believe that modern French evolved from the langue d' Oïl which in the middle ages was spoken in the middle top half of France whereas the bottom half spoke the langue d'Oc.
The Académie française tries to keep the purity of the French language and certainly in my younger days, seemed intent on keeping English out of it which nowadays is cause perdue I am afraid...
Chris Kwiziq Q&A super contributor
I also appreciate what the Académie Française is doing, even though their influence is declining. In German, there is the Duden (a reference book in 12 volumes for the German language which, as of 2017 was in its 27th edition). The Duden, however, has started to accept even the most blaring grammatical infraction as "proper German" as long as it is used by a sufficient number of people.
It is sobering to note how few people actually still have good command of their native languages, be that English or German (the languages I am most familiar with). The historical division between the "proper language" (spoken by an educated few) and the "common language" (spoken by the common people) is all but gone and the war of numbers tips the scales in favor of the common language.
The problem is that, as neuro-science shows, command of a language and the ability to speak it well reflects on how you think. Speak muddled -- think muddled.
If we give in to this and cease to challenge our students, we are slowly sliding down a slippery slope, at the end of which is a language which may be suited to talk about the weather but not about pilosophy.
Dmitri asked:View original
Clairez-vous s'il vous plaît
So, in all literal senses, the way to further describe an item's purpose is to pair it with the action being done with/upon it. ( i.e. une planche à voile = a [ plank ] to be flown [ surf ] upon ) That is odd to say the least, but French grammar seems to be very similar to archaic English grammar. I suppose the Norman invasion is to blame for that, n'est-ce pas? When the aristocracy speak one language, and the peasants speak another, I suppose they found a nice halfway point between the two, which then evolved into modern English, a confusing tangle of rules, exceptions, and counterrules, all presided over by 5+ official institutions.
French is much nicer. The rules are odd, but fairly consistent. It is managed by the Àcadémie Française , and no other, has considerably less mixing, and is only truly messed up in Créole French [ The pitiful excuse for French the people of Louisiana speak ]. So even if I had to traverse the entire french-speaking world, I would find little more than dialect ( i.e. Quebècoise, Guiyanaise, Walloon, Langues d'Occitan et d'Oeil . ) Bíen faites, francophones!
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Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor
I need to look at all the answers more carefully
Je déteste quand je connaise une bonne réponse mais je choisis une réponse mauvaise parce que je dépêche! J'ai besoin de lire chaque réponse en avance de choisir une réponse. oh la la la la la la la ! :)
Asked 1 year ago
Robin asked:View original
I need to look at all the answers more carefully
Je déteste quand je connaise une bonne réponse mais je choisis une réponse mauvaise parce que je dépêche! J'ai besoin de lire chaque réponse en avance de choisir une réponse. oh la la la la la la la ! :)
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