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- "Ils mettent leurs chaussures…
24 Comments
2309
Either by reading "ils mettent" or listening ("il met" vs "ils mettent"), this can only be understood as "they". The "t" in "il met" is silent. You can listen to the audio and hear the "t" quite clearly in "ils meTtent" which is a clear audible clue that it is the third person plural conjugation of the verb.
788
think: les étudiants aiment leur professeur. ( = their language teacher); Les étudiants aiment leurs professeurs. (= their teachers of history, maths etc.). Les parents aiment leur fils/ ...leurs enfants. ( only one son/ two or more children)
2309
There is a tiny bit of overlap with the English "wear". If you look in your closet and ask yourself, what shall I wear today, the French verb would be "mettre" (meaning "wear" in the sense of I am going to put it on). However, once you have put on the clothing, you are now wearing it. This is the verb "porter". In short, when "mettre" is used in the context of clothing, you are safe in thinking that it means "to put on". When "porter" is used in the context of clothing, you are safe in thinking that it means "to wear".
I think that's actually backwards. I think the hard "t" in "meTTent" tells you that it is "mettent," rather than "met" and therefore "ils," not "il." Then logically it has to be "chaussures," not "chaussure," because if between them they own a single shoe they cannot both or all but it on at the same time, and if "chaussures," then it must be "leurs." I am struggling with French so would appreciate if a native speaker would confirm if this is correct or not.