French indefinite plurals

[dash_zero]

hopefully someone can help me understand this, my french lecturer couldn't. 

So for the definite, you say:

le chat brun (the brown cat)

and the plural is les chats bruns (the brown cats)

And the indefinte is:

un chats bruns (the brown cat)

and the plural is

des bruns chats (????????) 

What is the situation where a plural indefinite is used?

There isn't such in english, a plural is always definite.

Thanks for any advice 

[ChocClare]

I'm not sure what you mean - we DO have the indefinite in English.  Definite article = the; indefinite = a/an in the singular and is either omitted or replaced with the word "some" in the plural:

le chat brun = THE brown cat

les chats bruns = THE brown cats

UN chat brun = A brown cat

DES chats bruns = brown cats or SOME brown cats - you either leave off the article completely or replace it with "some".  Or were you worried about the word order?  Sorry if I've completely missed your point!

[georgit79]

Yep, ChocClare has got it spot on.

Definite noun is 'the', indefinite is 'a/an' and 'some'

Simple as that really!

[jno]

my French is rusty beyond belief... but wouldn't some brown cats be translated as quelques chats bruns? The simple indefinite plural is just brown cats. Sorry if I'm meowing up the wrong tree here.

[ChocClare]

All I meant was that des chats bruns could be translated either as "brown cats" or as "some brown cats".  For example, il y a des chats bruns endormis sur le toit could be translated as "there are brown cats sleeping on the roof" or "there are some brown cats sleeping on the roof".  Jno is quite right to say that "quelques" means specifically "some" or "a few", but we do use "some" as an indefinite article in English too - for example, you'd probably translate the phrase je voudrais acheter des oignons as "I'd like to buy some onions" rather than just "I'd like to buy onions".

[Peter Pedant]

No I agree with dash zero - it aint that simple.

I could never get the difference between

transport d'enfants - which was on the side of a bus - an autobus I think, and....

transport des enfants - which wasnt anywhere, and isnt what the Froggies would say.....

anyway - with an adjective in front of the noun, as in un brun chat, isnt the plural de bruns chats?

skools 6-10 in france are called ecoles de grammaire, and you can see why.....

[jno]

brun chat...well, grammar's my noire bete

[dash_zero]

Actually you hit it straight on ChocClaire. I was stuck thinking in the square of a/an and the -'some' works perfectly, thanks a lot.

[ChocClare]

You're very welcome - glad to help!