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JohnC1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

DevoirWe are told that devoir can sometimes mean 'to need to [do]' yet only one example is given and no further explanation. In the example devoir is followed by a verb in the infinitive. Is that how devoir can be used?

Asked 5 years ago

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PaulC1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

Jack descended (on) the giant

I can see from the discussion that I am not the only learner who gets confused about this, but am I correct that these two sentences are translated thus:

Jack descended the giant = Jack a descendu le geant (Sorry, can't do the accent)

and

Jack descended on the giant = Jack est descendu sur le geant.

Asked 5 years ago

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CadeA2Kwiziq community member

"on" vs "tu" and "vous" for you"I have been taking the writing challenge to test it out for future use with my students. I notice that when translating a 'you' statement the correct responses never include the option for using 'tu' or 'vous' and instead rely on using only 'on'. I understand the benefit of teaching the impersonal 'on' but feel that the 'tu' and 'vous' versions of the sentence should also be counted as correct. The 'on' pronoun in my understanding of spoken French is more commonly used as 'we' though it of course can be interpreted in many ways. I wonder if requiring it to be the only translation accepted for a 'you' statement might be leading the students toward a misunderstanding of the pronoun. Thanks for listening! I love the product so far."

Asked 5 years ago

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PaulaC1Kwiziq community member

Inscrit en contre

Can anyone help with the phrase 'inscrit en contre'. According to the local newspaper, our local rugby team won at the weekend:

'.....grâce à un essai inscrit en contre'

I have looked it up but cannot grasp the meaning of the phrase. Thanks

Paula

Asked 5 years ago

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JonathonA2Kwiziq community member

I was taking a test and I still don't understand when to use on vs. nous. They seem to be interchangeable. Can you give more examples?The test was one of those translate in the blank ones - Weekend in Lyon. It kept on using on when it seemed to me that nous would have been just as appropriate. Why use one over the other?

Asked 5 years ago

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SaulA1Kwiziq community member

use of de in negationIn the answer "je n'aime pas les sports" I thought de was used in negation rather than le, la, une, etc. Is this totally incorrect? What are the rules for using de rather than le, la, etc.

Asked 5 years ago

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DraganaC1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

Tu aimes le violet? Oui, c'est tres jolie!

If this asking if you like a specific colour. Why is it not "Oui, il est tres jolie!

Another referred to ma coupe - it was Elle est tres ....., WHY elle here?

Thanks

Asked 5 years ago

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Stephen C1Kwiziq community member

I understood that the second and third consecutive verbs were in the infinitive

Asked 5 years ago

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PaulC1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

Plus-que-parfait vs imparfaitWhy is "She had been dreaming" (in the writing exercise) translated with the imparfait "Elle rêvait" instead of the plus-que-parfait "Elle avait rêvé"?

Asked 5 years ago

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PatA1Kwiziq community member

avoir raison vs avoir la raisonWhen d you use one vs the other?

Asked 5 years ago

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