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I have some questions with regard to the liaison between a noun and its first adjective, as well as the subsequent adjectives. I know that in the phrase "des langues étrangères", the "s" makes liaison as /z/. However, I don't know if I should make a liaison for "un étudiant actif étranger".

Should it be

Eu-né-tu-dian-tac-ti-vé-tran-gé ?

or should it be

Eu-né-tu-dia-nac-ti-fé-tran-gé ?

Moreover, how about "un étudiant curieux étranger"?

Jimmy
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3 Answers3

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There's no liaison between étudiant and actif, and neither between actif and étranger (where do you get that from?). There's always a liaison after un though.

So it's:

Un-né-tu-dian-ac-tif-é-tran-gé

And I don't think there's ever a liaison after curieux.

Rule of thumb of the comments, condensed:

Generally, in a sentence with [article]+[noun]+[adjective], there's a liaison on the noun, but not on the adjective after the noun.

Ex:

Des zhistoires ( )étranges

Whereas in [article]+[adjective]+[noun], there is a liaison both on the adjective and on the noun.

Des zétranges zhistoires

Of course, this applies only if the words can have a liaison. There's no liaison in "Un grand bûcheron" for example.

Teleporting Goat
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  • Because "langues étrangères" needs liaison, I thought maybe "étudiant actif" needs liaison as well. Does it mean only plural nouns need a liaison? – Jimmy Jul 23 '18 at 09:22
  • @Jimmy Actually, liaisons are a little more complicated than that. It depends more on habits than on rules as to what gets a liaison and what doesn't. (For example, a lot of people say "langues étrangères" with a liaison but it's not an obligation). – Teleporting Goat Jul 23 '18 at 09:34
  • @Jimmy As a rule of thumb, most liaison happen on nouns, and rarely on adjectives. Ex: "Des zimmeubles", "Des grands zimmeubles", but "Des zimmeubles immenses" (no liaison on "immense"). "Langues étrangères" is actually kind of an exception. – Teleporting Goat Jul 23 '18 at 09:36
  • Merci beaucoup ! – Jimmy Jul 23 '18 at 10:09
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    There is certainly a liaison after curieux in some cases, with a "z" sound. Try to pronounce "de curieux échafaudages" for example (yes, I can see construction work outside my office window). – N.I. Jul 23 '18 at 10:54
  • @NajibIdrissi Yeah, as far as I know, in the construction [article] + [adjective] + [noun], both the adjective and the verb have a liaison. Ex: "Des zétranges zhistoires" (vs "Des zhistoires ( )étranges") – Teleporting Goat Jul 23 '18 at 12:06
  • @TeleportingGoat when inverting noun and adjective, you would rather replace "des" by "de" : de curieux amis, de tristes journées. When adjective starts with a vowel, you would even elude the "e": "d'ambitieux amis" , "d'agréables journées". But this is a completely different question... – Laurent S. Jul 24 '18 at 09:00
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Depending on which one is the noun and which one is the adjective, the liaison might be done or not:

Un curieux (z) étranger: A curious foreigner (curieux is an adjective, étranger is a noun. Liaison possible but optional)

Un curieux étranger: A foreign onlooker (curieux is a noun, étranger is an adjective. Forbidden liaison because curieux is singular)

Un étudiant curieux étranger and étudiant actif étranger are not very idiomatic. We'd rather say either:

Un étudiant étranger curieux / Un étudiant étranger actif

or

Un curieux étudiant étranger.

jlliagre
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  • So I guess there's no liaison for "un cours étranger" because the "cours" here is singular, but for "des cours étrangers", there is liaison since "cours" is plural? – Jimmy Jul 24 '18 at 01:59
  • Yes, the liaison is forbidden in the first case and optional in the second one. – jlliagre Jul 24 '18 at 06:51
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Yes, there is a liaison after curieux. The same as "Un heureux événement" that is pronounced "heureuZévénement"