Hi. I have a question. Would it be:

Les eleves portent des jeans, des tshirts, et des baskets.

Or

Les eleves portent un jean, un tshirt, et des baskets.

In other words, if the subject is plural, should all of the clothing items be plural? Or only dual items like socks and shoes? (Does that make sense?)

Like, sure, there is more than one person. Each person is wearing one pair of jeans, one tshirt, and two sneakers. But, because there are 2,000 students, in total there are 2,000 jeans, 2,000 tshirts, and 4,000 sneakers.

Confusing.

Thanks,
Corinna

Please put the required accent marks there! If you don't know how to do it, we need to know 2 things. a) do you have a PC or Mac and b) do you have Windows or not.

You have the idea because each person is wearing one, while many are wearing many.

Why not go with: Chaque élève porte un jean, (blue-jean), etc.

Sra (aka Mme)

Nous allons ____ cinéma.

Hi Corinna! I understand your question, and it's a good one. In French, when talking about plural subjects, the general rule is that if each individual subject is wearing just one item, then the item remains singular. However, if they are wearing multiple items, like socks or shoes, then the item becomes plural.

In your example, "Les élèves portent des jeans, des t-shirts et des baskets," you are using the plural form correctly. Since each student is wearing one pair of jeans, one t-shirt, and one pair of sneakers, the items remain in the plural form. Even though there are 2,000 students, the sentence remains the same because each individual is wearing one of each item.

On the other hand, if the sentence were about a different item, like "Les élèves portent des chaussettes et des chaussures," then the plural form is used because each student is wearing multiple socks and shoes.

So, in conclusion, for items that are typically worn in pairs or multiples, like socks and shoes, we use the plural form. But for items that are usually worn individually, like jeans and t-shirts, we use the singular form, even when talking about multiple people.

I hope that clarifies your question! Let me know if you have any more doubts or need further explanation.