Plural after hameau

Eugene M.C1Kwiziq community member

Plural after hameau

Please explain why the plural is used at the end of this sentence dont les trois bâtiments entourant une charmante place centrale participent d'une atmosphère de petit hameau des plus pittoresques. 

Also cabane is a female noun, shouldn’t it be surplombantes in the phrase below 

l'une des deux cabanes surplombant le domaine

Thank you very much 

Asked 3 months ago
CécileNative French expert teacher in KwiziqCorrect answer

Hello Eugene, 

1. des plus pittoresques

The phrase "des plus" in French is an idiomatic expression used to emphasize a quality or characteristic. It can be translated to English as "one of the most" or "extremely."

 The complete translation would be:

...gives the atmosphere of an extremely picturesque small hamlet

This construction is commonly used in French to add emphasis and create a superlative meaning without using the actual superlative form of the adjective. It's a more elegant and slightly less direct way of saying something is very much so or to a high degree.

2. "surplombant" here isn't an adjective but the present participle of the verb 'surpomber' and it means 'overlooking' and doesn't agree with anything.

Bonne Continuation !

Eugene M. asked:

Plural after hameau

Please explain why the plural is used at the end of this sentence dont les trois bâtiments entourant une charmante place centrale participent d'une atmosphère de petit hameau des plus pittoresques. 

Also cabane is a female noun, shouldn’t it be surplombantes in the phrase below 

l'une des deux cabanes surplombant le domaine

Thank you very much 

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