In English we often simply squash two words together to make a compound noun ("dining room"), whereas in French the two words are always joined by a preposition (à, de, en).
Look at these examples:
une planche à repasser
an ironing board
une machine à laver
a washing machine
une machine à coudre
a sewing machine
une pomme à cuire
a cooking apple
Compound nouns in English formed with -ing + noun are often used to indicate function (e.g. "dining room"). In French, these typically take the form noun + à + verb-infinitive. For example, salle à manger.
Also have a look at Compound nouns formed with prepositions à, de, en
Robin
Kwiziq community member
3 December 2018
2 replies
I need to look at all the answers more carefully
Je déteste quand je connaise une bonne réponse mais je choisis une réponse mauvaise parce que je dépêche! J'ai besoin de lire chaque réponse en avance de choisir une réponse. oh la la la la la la la ! :)
Cécile
Kwiziq language super star
4 December 2018
4/12/18
Robin
Kwiziq community member
4 December 2018
4/12/18