I love knowing and being able to use the more arcane aspects of grammar. I wonder, is it of any use learning this tense for dialogue, or is it solely literary in its applications?

Asked 9 years ago

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John C.C1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

Question from the Writing Challenge that references "en"This lesson is referenced in the Week 1, B1 writing challenge but it does not contain information on the use of "en" in the part where the speaker says he will see places in Paris "that I've only seen in photos." The answer uses "que je n'ai vues qu'en photos." Why is en needed there? Thanks.

Asked 10 years ago

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Barbara D.C1Kwiziq community member

Notre cousine me te rappelle. ou Je vous la rappelle. Ces phrases sont correctes?

Asked 8 years ago

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Jamie J.B2Kwiziq community member

Why the S'Y?

I have just run across this sentence in my reading, and I don't understand how/why the adverbial pronoun is used:

The introductory sentence is part of a conversation:

-Vous ignorez qu'il est le propriétaire des parfums et des produits de beauté Mylène?

This is followed by the following sentence, which is the author's omnipotent observation about how little Maigret knew about perfumes:

Il s'y connaissait si peu en produits de beauté!

I understand what is being communicated, but I don't understand the grammar!

Please explain why the "s'y" construction is in this sentence.

Merci!

Asked 6 years ago

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diane b.C1Kwiziq community member

Identify regional gendersHi The rule - use en if feminine and dans le if masculine - is easy to follow. The question is - other than for UK -shires, how on earth do we know if a region or province is masculine or feminine, or falls into the 'au' (rather than 'en' or 'dans le') camp ? More help (or at least examples) please. Thanks.

Asked 9 years ago

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Helena F.B2Kwiziq community member

Le nombre de fois/Combien de fois

I translated "how many times" (I've got lost) as "combien de fois" rather than "le nombre de fois". This was not listed as an alternative, but according to my Reverso app they are both acceptable in this context. When would you use one rather than the other?

Asked 4 years ago

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Joan F.C1Kwiziq community member

A placeI checked with reverso.com, and they have Cette falaise me rappelle de Douvres (place). Not just Douvres. How come?

Asked 8 years ago

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