eventuelles

Eventuelles is the feminine plural form of the French adjective eventuel. It describes something that may occur or is possible and is commonly translated as "possible" or "contingent" in English. It is used to qualify feminine plural nouns, for example: les éventuelles conséquences, les éventuelles questions, les éventuelles mesures.

Etymology and forms: Eventuel comes from Latin eventualis, from eventus meaning outcome or something that happens, with the suffix -el. The full set of forms includes éventuel (masculine singular), éventuels (masculine plural), eventuelle (feminine singular), and eventuelles (feminine plural). The feminine plural form, eventuelles, is most often seen before feminine plural nouns.

Usage: The word is common in formal and administrative language as well as in everyday speech when discussing possibilities or contingencies. It often appears before a plural feminine noun, as in les éventuelles conséquences or les éventuelles questions. The phrase un éventuel can be used as a noun meaning "a possible one," for example un éventuel candidat, though this noun use is less frequent than the adjectival form.

Translations and nuances: In English, eventuel translates to depending on context as "possible," "prospective," or "contingent." In some senses it can align with the English "eventual" when describing something that could occur as a later outcome, but in French the primary sense remains the sense of possibility or contingency rather than inevitability.

See also: French adjectives and agreement, list of feminine plural forms in French, contingent (linguistics).