Agreement of the adjective, palpitant

Frank C.C1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

Agreement of the adjective, palpitant

In the phrase, "Bonjour Lucile, nous assistons en direct à un début de course palpitant...", 'palpitant' seems to agree with 'début' instead of 'course'.  I would think that the course is thrilling rather than its début.  Is it because le début de course is a compound noun and, if so, the agreement would always be with the principle part, in this case début ? 

Asked 4 months ago
CécileNative French expert teacher in KwiziqCorrect answer

Hi Frank,

Although the 'course' can indeed be 'palpitante', in grammar the adjective has to agree with the subject which is 'le début de course'.

At this point, we wouldn't know whether the whole of the 'course' has been 'palpitante'.

Bonne Continuation !

Agreement of the adjective, palpitant

In the phrase, "Bonjour Lucile, nous assistons en direct à un début de course palpitant...", 'palpitant' seems to agree with 'début' instead of 'course'.  I would think that the course is thrilling rather than its début.  Is it because le début de course is a compound noun and, if so, the agreement would always be with the principle part, in this case début ? 

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