Why is this lesson presented differently from the "Avoir besoin de" lesson?IMHO, the presentation of "avoir envie de" in this lesson seems to be rambling and less precise than the corresponding "avoir besoin de" lesson. (They were written by the same author.)
Because of the differing presentations, it took me a couple of re-reads to realize that the construction of these expressions is actually IDENTICAL:
- avoir besoin de + (article) + noun
- avoir envie de + (article) + noun
and
- avoir besoin de + infinitive
- avoir envie de + infinitive
Note that I've replaced the unnecessary "de/d'" by the simple "de", because at this stage of a French course, I don't think anyone would ever say (or write) "J'ai besoin de un crayon". [BTW: I'm impressed by the spell checker. It flagged "de un" ! ]
The use of "parallel text" causes most Brits to prefer US courses. Although the subjects might be of equal complexity and difficulty, the Yanks use parallel text for the overhead projectors and the course notes. That seems to make the subjects seem simpler - both to learn and to remember.
BTW: Parallel text simply means the use of identical text throughout - except for the differing key words. Look at my "besoin" and "envie" examples above. The differing key words seem to jump out of the page - as if they had been emboldened.
Thanks.
I've been marked wrong for using - Il est dix-neuf heures et demie. - for 7.30 PM
But it's shown as acceptable in the lesson above.
Why?
I understand the use of the conditional but why is it not acceptable to have "arriverait" instead of "serait"?
Using the term non-verbal here is very confusing, as it seems like you are saying it should only be written and not spoken. Perhaps you could change it to read nominal sentences? A nominal sentence is one without an expressed verb. It would avoid the confusion.
In the sentence: À qui sont ces balles ? ________ les miennes. Why can't I say 'ce sont les miennes'?
Please can someone help. I have just had « Il est neuf heures quinze » marked as incorrect, the correct answer being « Il est neuf heures et quart ». I had thought either would be OK. Thanks.
IMHO, the presentation of "avoir envie de" in this lesson seems to be rambling and less precise than the corresponding "avoir besoin de" lesson. (They were written by the same author.)
Because of the differing presentations, it took me a couple of re-reads to realize that the construction of these expressions is actually IDENTICAL:
- avoir besoin de + (article) + noun
- avoir envie de + (article) + noun
and
- avoir besoin de + infinitive
- avoir envie de + infinitive
Note that I've replaced the unnecessary "de/d'" by the simple "de", because at this stage of a French course, I don't think anyone would ever say (or write) "J'ai besoin de un crayon". [BTW: I'm impressed by the spell checker. It flagged "de un" ! ]
The use of "parallel text" causes most Brits to prefer US courses. Although the subjects might be of equal complexity and difficulty, the Yanks use parallel text for the overhead projectors and the course notes. That seems to make the subjects seem simpler - both to learn and to remember.
BTW: Parallel text simply means the use of identical text throughout - except for the differing key words. Look at my "besoin" and "envie" examples above. The differing key words seem to jump out of the page - as if they had been emboldened.
Thanks.
Isn’t the pronunciation rather è than é, since ai says è, such as in j’ai and j’aime.
My question is about putting "Marie caressait son chat" into the La Voix Passive. I have read Skylar's comment and the answers to her question. I agree with Ron, that "Le chat de Marie..." resolves the ambiguity of whose cat it is. So, I wrote: "Le chat de Marie etait caressait par elle" which was marked wrong. Could someone explain why this is wrong?
Je vous remercie beaucoup !
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