"long/longue" coming before nouns --

Alison R.A1Kwiziq community member

"long/longue" coming before nouns --

This is tough to remember as an English speaker, since I am so familiar with a "chaise longue" -- is this the major exception to the rule that "long" generally comes before a noun? I see Aurelie's distinction that adjectives before nouns can be figurative and those after descriptive... but calling a chair "long" doesn't seem any more descriptive than calling a path "long," and yet from the lesson the long path is "le long chemin."
Asked 6 years ago
CécileNative French expert teacher in KwiziqCorrect answer

Hi Alison,

That's a very good point but 'chaise longue' refers to a particular type of chair (between a chair and a bed) and is taken as meaning this particular item.

Normally long/longue would precede the noun as in:

C'était un long discours = It was a long speech 

C'était un ami de longue date = It/He was a long standing friend

If you look at Steven's contribution at the end of the lesson, He suggests a useful acronym to remember the adjectives that normally come before the noun.

Hope this helps!

Chris W.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor
I guess what Aurélie means with descriptive is what in English one would write with a hyphen. A "chaise-longue" would be a "long-chair" whereas a "longue chaise" would be a "long chair". Greetings, -- Chris.

"long/longue" coming before nouns --

This is tough to remember as an English speaker, since I am so familiar with a "chaise longue" -- is this the major exception to the rule that "long" generally comes before a noun? I see Aurelie's distinction that adjectives before nouns can be figurative and those after descriptive... but calling a chair "long" doesn't seem any more descriptive than calling a path "long," and yet from the lesson the long path is "le long chemin."

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