French language Q&A Forum

What is the function of “la” in the following please? “sur lequel je ferai la mise en place de mes plats”. Should I read this as (in a clunky way) “sur lequel je ferai/on which I will make” “la mise en place/the installation of” “de mes plats/of my plates”.

I found this very difficult and frustrating.  Some of the words I thought I needed were not in my dictionary or were very different from what I expected:  Silicon was translated to be silicium (!); liposuction was nowhere to be found.  I don't recall having see the expression "couter les yeux et la tete" before (although there is some faint recollection of it).  Poser, used I think in its possible form,  is to install, but not a term I would have associated with breast implants.  I think I need MUCH more information and education in current terminology to feel any success with this translations.  How do I get this?????  Help, please!!

I constantly make errors when a infinitive follows another verb.  Sometimes the preposition 'de' introduces the infinitive as in "...decide de couper... " in the above exercise.   Sometimes the preposition  'à' intervenes as in "intéresser à".  Then there are verbs which take no preposition, for example "aller".  Finally, we have an example using the preposition pour, as in "...insisted pour payer..." in the exercise.  My question is "Are there patterns for these verbs or is it a matter of just learning by rote or just by listening to hundreds of conversations to remember the usage?" Thanks so much for your consideration. 

Est-ce la phrase  "Dans la serre, il y a plus de sept-cent papillons exotiques" correcte ?   on n'écrit pas sept-cents ?