How many hens made these nests?
Interestingly, most streets and roads in France (with the possible exception of some mountainous areas) are pothole-free. French winters are just not as harsh as, say, Chicago or Montréal winters with the constant freeze-thaw cycles that wreck paved streets. The French also have a reputation for maintaining their street and road network very well. That's not to say that there aren't "hens' nests" here and there, just that they're not all that common. Except in dirt roads.
Of course, I had to verify what the plural of nid-de-poule [nee-duh-pool] is. Compound expressions can be tricky, at least for me. Wikipedia says the plural is nids-de-poule, the literal translation being "nests of hen" or "hen's nests" which looks to me like many nests of one hen. Why not nids-de-poules or "hens' nests?" I don't know. There's no difference in pronunciation between the singular and the plural.
That got me thinking about the hen's (hens'?) eggs. Are the yolks called jaunes d'œuf (plural yolks but singular egg) or jaunes d'œufs (plural yolks, plural eggs)? I think officially it's the latter in French (unlike nids-de-poule), although I do hear both said. The "f" in the singular œuf is pronounced whereas the "f" and "s" in the plural œufs are not. I've never heard anyone say "eggs' yolks" in English. Comprend qui peut (understand if you can). Ain't language fun?
I think in Spanish it’s as it is in English, singular egg, plural yolks. I never gave it any thought but now that you mention it, our roads are less pothole prone, too.
ReplyDeleteYes, it is!
ReplyDeleteThanks for teaching us about nids de poule que je ne connaissais pas du tout.
As Walt rightly wrote, there are two hyphens in nids-de-poule. Hyphens are orthographic parts of the French grammar, and should not be ignored.
DeleteJudy, the use of hyphens in nid de poule varies from dictionary to dictionary.
DeleteYes, there is a dramatic shortage of hyphens in France. There aren't enough of them for everybody!
DeleteI should add, the literacy level in France is so low, it's almost non-existent.
DeleteFrench is so complicated, and so many French people think they know the language better than anybody else. Better to focus on meaning, especially for people learning the language as adults, than on fine details of hyphens etc. English has hyphen issues too, but most people aren't bothered.
DeleteYour town is richer than the assemblage of hamlets my daughter lives in. They have lots and lots of communal roads and the potholes and ruts are really hard on the car! Every year we see it getting worse and worse.
ReplyDeleteLes grammairiens ne sont pas d'accord et pour plagier Vaugelas, je dirais que l'un et l'autre se dit ou se disent. Personnellement, maus je ne suis pas grammairien, je préfère le singulier, puisqu'il s'agit du nom d'un volatile virtuel et non d'un oiseau réel.
ReplyDeletemitch, but your trees keep falling over...
ReplyDeletejudy, it's funny the things you never think about when learning a second language, but that are so very important when you try to speak or write.
ellen, I wondered if there were places like that. Now I know!
chm, est-ce qu'on peut dire qu'un volatile virtuel n'est autre qu'une volaille vertueuse ? lol
Oui, in Anglo-French jargon! LOL
ReplyDelete