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Demi, nu and possible: proofread marked French adjective patterns
Correct French demi, nu and possible in six explicit patterns, distinguishing position-dependent agreement and a superlative quantity from an ordinary adjective.
- C2
- 6 sentences
- Tap the wrong word
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In short
Write une demi-heure, deux heures et demie, nu-pieds and les pieds nus. In le plus possible de données, possible directly follows the superlative and stays invariable. In les solutions possibles, it is an ordinary adjective and agrees. Position and construction matter more than a blanket “always invariable” rule.
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| Pattern | Correct form | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Before a noun | une demi-heure | Invariable demi plus hyphen. |
| After feminine plural hours | deux heures et demie | Demi takes the feminine here but no plural s. |
| Before body-part noun | nu-pieds | Invariable preposed nu plus hyphen. |
| After the noun | les pieds nus | Ordinary adjective agreement. |
| Superlative quantity | le plus possible de données | As much data as possible. |
| Ordinary adjective | les solutions possibles | Possible solutions, plural. |
With a noun between the superlative and possible, variation is admitted: le plus de données possible is the preferred invariant form, but le plus de données possibles is also accepted. The exercise uses le plus possible de données, where possible directly follows le plus, to avoid treating an admitted variant as an error.
Tap the word that's wrong in each sentence.
Half an hour is enough to reread the note.
Before the noun, demi is invariable and hyphenated.
Two and a half hours have passed.
After feminine heures, et demie marks gender, not plural.
He walked barefoot in the courtyard.
Before pieds, nu is invariable and hyphenated.
His bare feet bore traces of sand.
After the noun, nus agrees with masculine plural pieds.
Gather as much data as possible.
Directly after le plus, possible means qu’il est possible and is invariable.
We retained the possible solutions.
Here possible is an ordinary adjective modifying plural solutions.
The preposed forms demi-heure and nu-pieds are hyphenated. The postposed adjective is separate. After et demi, gender and number do not behave identically: the feminine appears in demie, but deux heures et demies does not follow this fractional expression.
In a dense argument, temporarily remove the surrounding subordinate clauses and inspect the small phrase. Then restore the complete sentence. This local method prevents the nearest plural noun from deciding every ending and keeps a real quantity expression distinct from an adjective describing what can exist.