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Questions answered by our learning community with help from expert French teachers
14,979 questions • 32,487 answers • 1,020,721 learners
The English translation "I'm washing after you got up" is grammatically incorrect. You're essentially saying "I'm doing this after you did that", which makes no sense in English. The proper structure would be "I'm washing after you get up" (I'm doing this after you do that") or "I'm washing after you have gotten up" ("I'm doing this after you have done that").
This is one of the most frustrating things in studying any language, when you see a direct translation given that you know is grammatically incorrect (even if it is understandable by somebody who's fluent in the language that the sentence is being translated into) instead of a transliteration that makes more sense.
Why the n in n'arrive? Does this not now translate as 'before it happened'?
Isn't the causative always to or for the subject of the verb?
I have a question for a team member. The above sentence can translate as 1 One can’t park here (impersonal, general) 2 You can’t park here (also impersonal and general but less formal) or 3 We can’t park here (personal, specific)
In English, the general sense of the first two is similar but the meaning of the third differs. Is that true in French as well, or are the various senses of "on" closer? Presumably it’s clear from context which one is meant.
I think this is more a question about the use of lui, but there are some examples here that use it. Ils rient avec lui, pas de lui. They laugh with him, not at him.
How do we know lui is HIM and not just him/her without any other context. Do I just take the translation for what it is, or am I missing something fundamental? I find this to be so confusing. Thank you.
Why do you use “à la” with New-Orleans (On va à la Nouvelle-Orléans la semaine prochaine) if there is no article in the name of Nouvelle-Orléans? Is it because it’s a feminine noun? Do I have to use “à la” and “de la” with all feminine nouns OR only with the ones that start with the feminine articles?
In this sentence where is the "you" as the sentence in English was "or we could give you a refund"? why are these English words just being omitted and how are we meant to know when to omit them?
... I hear “parapluie”. However, in “et j'achèterai un parapluie robuste” I hear “paraplu”. Is there really a difference there, and if so, why?
I wrote "Notre Salade aux Trois Fromages est [...] et assez copieuse" which was marked as incorrect. Looking at Le Robert, copieux is given as a synonym of consistant so I'm wondering why?
Does copieux mean more that the dish is physically large (ie a lot of food) whereas consistant just means it's filling but doesn't given any indication to the size of the meal?
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