French language Q&A Forum

(I saw a related question below, but didn't see how to link this question to that one... so I'm starting a new question.)

My question is about how to think about the meaning of "ainsi que." It's translated as "as well as," but in some examples I run into a singular treatment when my brain seems to expect a plural. I think the lesson here for me is that this isn't a translation that works in some cases. I'm wondering if my feeling is true for American English but maybe not for other varieties?

Here's the sentence that tripped me up:

Les Etats-Unis, ________ l'Angleterre, sont un pays anglophone.The United States, as well as England, is an anglophone country.
In English, I actually wouldn't say a sentence like in the translation above - I would say "The United States, like England, is an anglophone country." OR "The United States and England are anglophone countries." I just wouldn't use "as well as" in that way. So my takeaway is that I shouldn't lean in to heavily on using this as a 1-for-1 translation. Does this work better in, say, British English? Thanks.

I have found it impossible to learn the 2 conjugations of this verb.  I am probably way worse at rote memorization than most other people (and not just for French).  Every so often I come back to it here, hoping something will strike me.  Aha!  I just noticed that the endings for the first conjugation present indicative are the same as for voir!  Small progress.  As for the second conjugation, are there any "familiar" verbs that have these endings?  I tried to used Ez-glot to find similar endings, but the site is no longer accessible.  

Thanks

Look at the example below:

Ce métier requiert un vrai sens de l'empathie.

This translates into 'This job requires a true sense of empathy'. Here the adjective comes before the noun phrase. Why does this mean 'true sens if...' ?

Can anyone explain me this?

Asked to translate “I will pick you up at 5pm Saturday “, I wrote “ Je te chercherai à 17 heures samedi”. Apparently this is incorrect, the correct response being, “ Je passerai te chercher à 17 heures samedi”. What was wrong with my answer?

- "Qui aurait cru que ça arriverait enfin ?". Could I also say "Qui aurait cru que ça serait arrivé enfin ?" ?

Thank you!

je chérirai toujours la nuit... why we use futur simple of chérir here?

Hi. My test offered no clue that the test-sentence was being used in a literary or other written context. I could have been saying to a friend that…. yesterday ‘I lost my balance’ and fell down….. As opposed to ‘I lost my balance’ (my equilibrium), which has a figurative meaning, and therefore could well be used in that literary sense. If a verb is being used figuratively and not literally, is it always in the historic past,?? What is the difference between ‘J’ai perdu mon cle hier’ and ‘Je perdis mon equilibre’… etc Thanks, Kathy

I have quizzed this question 3 times. The first time I chose 'sa'.  I was given 'son' as correct. The next time I chose 'son'. I was given 'sa' as correct. The 3rd time I wrote 'sa' but apparently should have written 'son'. What's going on here?

Il est quatorze heures de l' apres midi, although the l'aprés midi is unnecessary and probably incorrect, it does unambiguously mean 2pm surely?

The english grammar in these lessons, is often so informal it sounds crass. French is a beautiful language, but so is English. So please do better and utilize their elegance and use what is appropriate because even in English "put" is not. 

rentrer = to return/go back in general, but when it's used transitively (with a direct object, like la voiture), it means to bring something back inside.

So here, “Mathilde a rentré la voiture” literally means “Mathilde brought the car back in” (like into the garage or driveway).

Technically, “put the car back” isn't grammatically incorrect, but it sounds a bit off in real-world usage.

We don't usually “put” cars back like they're groceries or a coffee mug ☕️.

We say:

“She parked the car back in the garage.”

“She brought the car back.”

“She pulled the car in before Paul arrived.”