French language Q&A Forum

There are a lot of interesting tense changes to consider in this exercise! But why do we hop back into the present tense here:

“until she gave birth to her daughter Claude”

“jusqu'à ce qu'elle accouche de sa fille Claude”

“jusqu'à ce qu'elle donne naissance à sa fille Claude”

I understand from the disucssion that you can use depuis with the present tense or passé composé but I have this question:

Depuis quand est-ce que vous êtes vous mariés ? ( a point in time in the past)

Asking a person who is married how long they've been married (and still are): Vous êtes vous mariés depuis 30 ans? (Past tense so does this mean they're no longer married?)  or, should you say, Vous êtes mariés depuis 40 ans? (still married).

This always trips me up so thank you ahead of time for your help!

Why "dans"?  Isn't stadium a general place rather than a specific one?  Like "in prison" = "en la prision"?

What is the difference between vite and rapidement?

I answered incorrectly "au haricot vert", and was wondering if the difference is audible? Though perhaps this is something to know context rather than hear.

Quelle est la différence d'utilisation entre les magasins, les commerces et les boutiques ? Est-ce une question de taille, de spécialisation, etc. ?

I get that "magasin" is generally a retail outlet & "commerce" is more for small business, but I've seen them used interchangeably. In the States "boutique" is usually for high-end or very niche-oriented items, but that doesn't always seem to track en français.

Can we use possessive adjectives instead of the definite articles? Why not? 

- Pourquoi ma chatte s'est-elle léché sa patte ? [Why did my cat lick HER paw?]

- Tu te laves tes mains? [Are you washing YOUR hands?]

- Il se lave ses cheveux. [He's washing HIS hair.]

It is a little confusing, could you please explain?

Why is "elle va ne pas partir" wrong?

"I will pass through Paris." Is one of the below incorrect? Why?

- Je passerai par Paris.

- Je passerai à travers Paris.