Trouble with plurals

[john8kennedy]

Can someone explain why it is:

Il a de grands chats

and not:

Il a des grands chats?

Is the de just random and I have to learn particular words that don't get des or is there a more obvious reason?

Thanks!

[Tomk123]

The rule for the use of 'de', or at least the one in this case, is it is used with a plural noun when there is an adjective before the noun, as in the sentence here. However, most adjectives come after the noun. There are only a comparative small number of them that usually come before. I hope this helps. French grammar is full of tricky little points.

[john8kennedy]

Thanks Tom!