Question

Why do we say "a les cheveux bruns" in French? "A" means "has" and "les" means "the (plural)," so that translates to "has the brown hairs" (in English at least). Why do you HAVE to precede a noun with a definite article like le, la, les, and l'? I don't understand why you wouldn't say "a cheveux bruns" which means "has brown hair." Does it have to do with possession?

Answer 1

Hi !

"a" les cheveux bruns.....

les = article défini : masculin/pluriel

"a" = verbe "avoir"

J'ai

Tu as

Il,elle, on a

Nous avons

Vous avez

Ils,elles ont

Exemple :

Il a les cheveux bruns.

Possession is :

MON / MA /MES

TON/ TA /TES

SON /SA / SES

NOTRE /NOTRE /NOS

VOTRE /VOTRE /VOS

LEUR / /LEURS

Exemple :

Mes cheveux sont bruns.

Ses cheveux sont bruns.

Answer 2

French isn't always about the literal translation. Sometimes it's just how they say things, like 'il a dix ans' means that he's 10 years old, but the literal translation means he has 10 years. It doesn't really have to do with possession, but you could say 'mes cheveux bruns' for my brown hair. Hope this helps :)