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David S.C1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

Le Futur vs l'Imparfait.

In the writing challenge "My post-university plans" the sentence "I've heard that Isabelle is also going to try her luck in Paris." is translated as "J'ai entendu dire qu'Isabelle allait aussi tenter sa chance à Paris."

Why is "allait" used rather than "ira" or "va"?

"allait" seems to be translation for "was going", not "will be going" or "is going", yet the most likely meaning of the sentence is that Isabelle's action will occur in the future.

It seems that the explantion has to do with the fact that the sentence describes something already heard and therefore belongs to the past but the result is not intuitive.

Asked 6 years ago

Like0Answer23

Alan R.C1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

It is sunny.

What is the correct translation in French of “It is sunny”?

Is it “Il fait beau” or “Il fait du soleil”?

Asked 7 years ago

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Kathy h.B1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

À eux -vs- aux euxBonjour, I was surprised to see "Je pense à eux." in this lesson. Should it not be "aux eux" ? The other day I was chatting online with a French native, and when I wrote "dit bonjour à eux" he corrected me, saying to use "aux". Merci !

Asked 8 years ago

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Bonnie C.C1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

How do you say the color "maroon" in French?

I have a student who wants to know how to say the color "maroon". The hex color code #800000 gives "Maroon" as the answer on the encycolorpedia.fr site, but that's the only place I see it listed. Most "first choices" on translators give "marron" as the translation -- but how do you tell the difference between marron/maroon and marron/brown? Some give bordeaux or grenat as options -- and those are "related" colors on the encycolorpedia.fr site as well. Thank you for your help with this vexing dilemma. I hope the next student chooses something "easy" like navy blue!! :)

Asked 4 years ago

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Sarah C.A1Kwiziq community member

When do you use vouloir and when do you us avoir envie de

Asked 5 years ago

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Duke H.B1Kwiziq community member

Please explain "Il lui (verbe)"Bonjour! I'm trying to improve my French through reading, and I've encountered a problem that I don't think was covered in my lessons. I keep seeing the following structure used in a sentence: "Il lui (verbe)." For example: "Il lui manque la montié d'une oreille et ses yeux sont... ." I unferstand this sentence to mean "He is missing half of an ear, and his eyes are... ." My problem is that I can't figure out why such sentences are using "Il lui (verbe)" instead of just "Il (verbe)." Another example is "Il lui arrive même de nous faire cadeau d'un rat." Could you please explain (1) is "lui" is being used as a stress pronoun in this case? And (2) why is it being used at all? Marci! -Duke

Asked 7 years ago

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Anthea P.C1Kwiziq community member

Un peu usageBonjour Aurélie Recently I was told that any adjective that comes after 'un peu' must have a masculine ending regardless of the nous it describes e.g. Ma maison est un peu froid. Is this correct ?

Asked 8 years ago

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Frank C.C1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

Le plat

The idicated translation is "dish." In English, a dish can either be a plate on which food is placed or it can mean an entree. I suspect that the meaning of "plat" is the physical plate on which food is served. Can you verify?

Asked 4 years ago

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John E.A2Kwiziq community member

What does je puis mean?

Asked 6 years ago

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Jennifer C.C1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

What is the difference between offrir and donner? Which do people use most ?

Asked 7 years ago

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