French MNers, I need your help with grammar/spelling query....

[climbingrosie]

Hi, am hoping someone can help me, am helping my neice with some work and she wants to write mon petit choux, so 'my little cabbages' in french, but isn't sure whether this is the correct spelling or even grammar for the plural. I can't really help her as I've no idea!! Have googled it but all sorts of spelling variations come up.

Help!

not a native but pretty sure it's mes petits choux

Thanks porpoise!

Anyone confirm that?

You need to find out if choux is male or female as the spelling can change on the petit to petite if it's female. But the mes is right and the choux is right!

mes petits choux is the plural ie my little cabbages
mon petit choux is the singular

Aaaah! Now I'm confused, so if it's a group of children both male and female does that change the spelling of petits or is it only if it is singular?

So choux is the same spelling whether plural or single then? I feel very stupid as I told neice singular was chou!!

Thanks for all the help though!

No, the spelling of the word only changes if the noun is male or female.

So enfant is male, therefore it would be mon enfant for my child. It doesn't matter what sex the child is. A group of children would be mes enfants.

A singular cabbage is "chou", if it is plural you add an 'x'. Chou is actually a masculine word therefore my cabbages would be "mes choux"

Hope this helps!

un chou = a cabbage, doesn't change for masc/fem, so will always be mes petits choux in the plural, mon petit chou singular. M/f mixed groups always take the masc plural form. Hope that helps

oops x posts rhubarb!

Thank you rhubarb and dingdong...!

ok now I am less confused! So it would never be mon petit choux anyway? only mes petits choux for plural or mon petit chou for singular right?

Right!