French language Q&A Forum

I'm super confused about when to put an indefinite article before a noun like dancer, skater, singer. I know you are never supposed to use it when speaking about your profession. Je suis chanteuse. But, what if you are talking about a student. Il est élève? Is student a profession and what if that student does extracurriculars like ice skating? Il est un patineur sur glace or Il est patineur sur glace. How do you say you are a student but you are also a singer or a soccer player or a swimmer.

Can you say "la plupart de mon weekend" or "la majorite de mon weekend" here?

Dan la négation, par exemple: je n’aime pas d’escargots. De is under 0 number, why escargots is using plural? Affirmative answer: j’aime des escargots have quantities therefore is understandable to use pluriel.

In “En 1253, le chapelain Robert de Sorbon fonde un collège pour élèves nécessiteux” I was surprised that it was not “les élèves” or “des élèves”. Is there a particular reason why this is the case?

The rules you give are quite useful. Thank you.

One thing that I would add is that I can remember easier if I think in terms of who is actually entering. If the Subject is entering, then we use être, but if the "entering" is being done by someone/something other than the Subject, then we use avoir.

Mes filles sont entrées en CP cette année. -> Mes filles

Nous avons entré les informations dans le programme. -> les informations

This works in other cases where we need to decide between avoir and être.  (or where the sentence seems to indicate that the action is not done by the sentence subject)

"We listened to the water".

I would have considered that a past imperfect ie, "Nous ecoutions les bruits de l'eau" because you can't listen to water at a specific moment in time - it's a continuous action in the past. "Nous avons ecoute les bruits de l'eau" isn't appropriate. 

We got splashed with water would be passe compose but not a continuous event of listening to the water?

Suggestions please....

Qu'est-ce-que cette citation veut dire ? 

"he must be worried sick at the idea that I'm worried/anxious about his silence" ?

Quoi ? S'il a mal, avec intoxication d'alimentation, cloué au lit, il a plus des problèmes que si elle est inquiété, non ?

Si ça n'est pas correct, je n'en aucune idée. 

The speech on this exercise is so unclear it's almost impossible for an intermediate speaker to understand. I understand you're trying to provide a variety of accents and voices, but I don't think it helps someone at an intermediate level to give a lesson with a very unclear voice. I played this to a native French speaker, and she had trouble understanding it. Please re-record!

Surely it is le mien? Please explain

Why did the quiz ask only one question, yet the results show 2 questions, one unanswered?