Greetings, What would it look like to turn these phrases into questions in order to ask how deep, tall, wide, or long something is?
There are two ways to express notions of height, length, width and depth in French:
faire [dimension] de haut, de long, de large, de profondeur
Note that while the forms de hauteur, de longueur, de largeur can also be used (though less commonly), you can NEVER say de profond.
être + haut de/long de/large de/ profond de [dimension]
Note that in this case the adjectives haut/long/large/profond agree in gender and number with the subject they refer to.
Case of measurements
Note: to indicate measurements, you use faire [dimension] sur (by) [dimension].
Examples and resources
Ce lit fait 2 mètres de long.
Ce lit fait 2 mètres de longueur.
This bed is 2 metres long.
Cette piscine est profonde de 5 mètres.
This swimming-pool is 5 metres deep.
Ce lit est long de 2 mètres.
This bed is 2 metres long.
Ma chambre est large de 4 mètres.
My bedroom is 4 metres wide.
Cette piscine fait 5 mètres de profondeur.
This swimming-pool is 5 metres deep.
Ma chambre fait 4 mètres de large.
Ma chambre fait 4 mètres de largeur.
My bedroom is 4 metres wide.
Ces baignoires sont longues de 2 mètres.
These bathtubs are 2 metres long.
Ce bâtiment est haut de 30 mètres.
This building is 30 metres tall.
Ce bâtiment fait 30 mètres de haut.
Ce bâtiment fait 30 mètres de hauteur.
This building is 30 metres tall.
Ces baignoires font 2 mètres de long.
Ces baignoires font 2 mètres de longueur.
These bathtubs are 2 metres long.
measurements
Cette pièce fait 10 mètres sur 4.
This room is 10 by 4 metres.
Q&A Forum 10 questions, 20 answers
Chris Kwiziq Q&A super contributor
This is a common way to ask:
Quelle est la longueur de cette pièce ? -- How long is this room?
Quelle est la hauteur de cette tour ? -- How high is that tower?
etc.
Lorie asked:View original
How to ask about dimensions?
Greetings, What would it look like to turn these phrases into questions in order to ask how deep, tall, wide, or long something is?
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StephanieKwiziq community member
Pourquoi de onze pas d’onze?
La Fausse des Mariannes est profonde de onze kilomètres.
This answer was said to be correct however I had not ticked it because I thought « de onze » was incorrect. Why isn’t it « d’onze » ?
Asked 6 months ago
Hi Stephanie,
You do not use elision with 'onze' and you cannot liaise if a consonant comes before it either, so you will say -
Les //onze étudiants sont arrivés en retard
without liaising between the -s of les and the -é of étudiants.
I suppose it is to make it clear that we are talking about the number eleven.
Stephanie asked:View original
Pourquoi de onze pas d’onze?
La Fausse des Mariannes est profonde de onze kilomètres.
This answer was said to be correct however I had not ticked it because I thought « de onze » was incorrect. Why isn’t it « d’onze » ?
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BillKwiziq Q&A regular contributor
Les possibilités pour "thickness"
Pourriez-vous expliquer les possibilités pour "thickness" svp?
Est-ce correct de dire:
Le mur fait 30 centimètres d'épaisseur?
est-ce qu'il y a d'autres possibilités?
Merci d'avance.
Asked 10 months ago
Hi Bill,
You are correct , you can use -
faire + mesure + d'épaisseur
you could also say -
Le mur est épais de 30 centimètres
L' épaisseur du mur est de 30 centimètres
Hope this helps!
Bill asked:View original
Les possibilités pour "thickness"
Pourriez-vous expliquer les possibilités pour "thickness" svp?
Est-ce correct de dire:
Le mur fait 30 centimètres d'épaisseur?
est-ce qu'il y a d'autres possibilités?
Merci d'avance.
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Kwiziq community member
Hi - can someone explain please what it is that dictates the gender of long/longue - in respect of the question involving piscine Thanks
Asked 11 months ago
Tom Kwiziq Q&A super contributor
Hi lynne
The possibilities are :
1. une piscine longue de 50 mètres (adjective + de + measurement)
2. une piscine de 50 mètres de long ( de + measurement + de + noun (long=longuer))
3. La piscine est longue de 50 mètres (être + adjective + de + measurement)
4. La piscine a une longueur de 50 mètres (avoir + noun + de + measurement)
5. La piscine a 50 mètres de longueur (avoir + measurement + de + noun)
6. La piscine a 50 mètres de long (avoir + measurement + de + noun)
I believe any confusion may come from the the use of long as a masculine noun rather than long/longue as an adjective.
Hope this helps,
Tom
Lynne asked:View original
Hi - can someone explain please what it is that dictates the gender of long/longue - in respect of the question involving piscine Thanks
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Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor
this lesson does not advise when one would use either faire or être
Bonjour. I read the lesson. The lesson does not seem to advise when it is appropriate or better to use être or faire. Does it absolutely not matter? Or are there situations where être may be better to use than faire, or vice versa? Merci.
Asked 1 year ago
Hi Robin ,
You can indeed use -
'être' + adjective + de + measure
e.g
Le colis est long de 30 cms , large de 15 cms et haut de 3 cms...
but the expressions using 'faire' are more usual....
Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor
Bonjour encore. Further to my question above, I meant to add, could use of être or faire be just a matter of speech, how it sounds in the sentence? Merci.
Robin asked:View original
this lesson does not advise when one would use either faire or être
Bonjour. I read the lesson. The lesson does not seem to advise when it is appropriate or better to use être or faire. Does it absolutely not matter? Or are there situations where être may be better to use than faire, or vice versa? Merci.
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HeyesKwiziq community member
My dictionary gives as an example « le trou à 6 mètres de profondeur » is it wrong?
Asked 1 year ago
Chris Kwiziq Q&A super contributor
Le trou a 6 mètres de profondeur. -- The hole has a depth of 6 meters.Le trou est profond de 6 mètres. -- The hole is 6 meters deep.
More than one way to skin a cat. :)
Chris Kwiziq Q&A super contributor
This example, however, can be found in the lesson:
Cette piscine est profonde de 5 mètres.
It parallels the second example sentence I posted.
Heyes asked:View original
My dictionary gives as an example « le trou à 6 mètres de profondeur » is it wrong?
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MarnieKwiziq Q&A regular contributor
Quiz Test for faire de long vs faire de longeur
my answer "fait 6 mètres de longeur" was also marked as incorrect. As longeur is "less commonly used" but not "wrong" should not this answer have been marked correct but with another green tick showing "de long" also correct?
Asked 1 year ago
Marnie asked:View original
Quiz Test for faire de long vs faire de longeur
my answer "fait 6 mètres de longeur" was also marked as incorrect. As longeur is "less commonly used" but not "wrong" should not this answer have been marked correct but with another green tick showing "de long" also correct?
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NicholasKwiziq Q&A regular contributor
why had "6 mètres de longeur" been given as wrong?
Asked 2 years ago
Ron Kwiziq Q&A super contributor
Bonjour Nicholas,
Since the complete response was not posted with your question, I imagine that the incorrectness of the response had to do with the verb choice used. If possible, would you repost the complete response phrase to give a better example of your concern.
Merci en avance,
NicholasKwiziq community member
I had the same issue. I think the quiz needs updating to bring into agreement with the lesson.
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MeghnaKwiziq Q&A regular contributor
Abbreviation for units
Is 2m not an acceptable option for 2 meters in French ?
Asked 3 years ago
MeghnaKwiziq Q&A regular contributor
Thank you. Unless I made some other mistake - when the response given to a test question as 2m instead of meters it was marked as wrong. Hence my wuery
AurélieKwiziq team member
Bonjour Meghna !
I've looked through your history, and the mistake I found was as follows:
La voiture de Jim fait ________. (Jim's car is 2 meters wide.)
You wrote "2 metres" instead of "2 mètres de large" :)
And in another test, your answer was "2m de" missing "large".
I hope that's helpful!
I've looked through your history, and the mistake I found was as follows:
La voiture de Jim fait ________. (Jim's car is 2 meters wide.)
You wrote "2 metres" instead of "2 mètres de large" :)
And in another test, your answer was "2m de" missing "large".
I hope that's helpful!
MeghnaKwiziq Q&A regular contributor
Back with this one. My answer was ´2 m de large´ (Copy /pasted ) but was marked wrong. I don't get it?
Meghna asked:View original
Abbreviation for units
Is 2m not an acceptable option for 2 meters in French ?
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Chris Kwiziq Q&A super contributor
How to express dimensions with faire/être
As you explain, it is either
1. faire + value + de + dimension (noun)
2. être + de + dimension (adjective) + value
You say ...faire 1 m de profondeur.
But you also say ...faire 1 m de long
Isn't "longeur" the noun for length and "long/ue" the adjective? So why is it not "...faire 1 m de longeur" instead of "1 m de long"?
To me this looks like expressing depth works different from all other dimensions.
-- Chris.
Asked 3 years ago
AurélieKwiziq team member
Bonjour Claus !
Indeed, while you would use "de long / de large / de haut", for depth you use the noun "de profondeur".
Note that the forms "de hauteur, de longueur, de largeur" can also be used (though less commonly), however you can never say "de profond".
Thanks to you, I've updated the lesson to reflect these nuances.
Merci et à bientôt !
MarnieKwiziq Q&A regular contributor
Bonjour Aurélie, You will see that I also posted a question about this. You may have updated the lesson but NOT the quiz (the 10 question tests) that include this topic. Mercia!
Chris asked:View original
How to express dimensions with faire/être
As you explain, it is either
1. faire + value + de + dimension (noun)
2. être + de + dimension (adjective) + value
You say ...faire 1 m de profondeur.
But you also say ...faire 1 m de long
Isn't "longeur" the noun for length and "long/ue" the adjective? So why is it not "...faire 1 m de longeur" instead of "1 m de long"?
To me this looks like expressing depth works different from all other dimensions.
-- Chris.
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