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Let me take a look at that...
Questions answered by our learning community with help from expert French teachers
14,865 questions • 32,305 answers • 1,003,817 learners
"L'énergie qui se dégage du terrain est électrifiante."I think this should be "L'énergie qui se dégage du terrain est électrisante."
According to Larousse/Robert/Collins (and wordreference), there are 2 verbs for the English 'electrify':
Figurative use (charged atmosphere, give an electric shock to etc)- électriser, with the adjective 'électrisant(e)'
Physical use (provide electricity supply etc) - électrifier, with the adjective 'électrifiant(e)'
The "I'm forty" appears twice (around question 3 and 4).
I see this is the subject of a question and answer but I don’t think the response is adequate. The text of the lesson states that the meaning depends on the context. Surely the context means that ‘Bien sûr qu’on se déteste’ means ‘of course we hate each other’ as the correct response - because I want sort of context would tow people say to another we hates ourselves? I think this needs fixing or the lesson should at least be clear that both translations are possible.
Why is « ils sont passées »correct when one says « They passed the morning bringing eggs.. » Isn’t « to pass the morning » or « to pass the weekend » a transitive use of the verb, therefore « avoir »?
The phrase 'Don’t let it get you down' is generally translated into French as 'Ne te laisse pas abattre'. But, literally, the phrase appears to mean 'Don't let yourself cut down'. Wouldn't better ways to say it in French be 'Ne le laisse pas t'abattre' or 'Ne te laisse pas être abattu'?
Are there any other phrases like this, where the active voice is translated as passive?
[And why is my question suddenly centre justified?]
Where do I put the negative with lui/leur? For example:"No, I don't write to him."
Would this be "Non, je ne lui écris pas" or "Non, je lui n'écris pas"? I don't know if the negative surrounds the pronoun too.
How is «I eat neither apples nor pears» in the test I just did, significantly different to «I like neither cheese nor milk»? There is nothing at all that I can see in the construction of these sentences that gives a clue that the first is «Je ne mange ni pommes ni poires» while the second is «Je n'aime ni le fromage ni le lait» ie one uses definite article and one doesn't. If there is something special about the verb «aimer» or «manger» this needs to be detailed - but it is not. Perhaps one of the translations is 'wrong', noting that the French could be «I eat/I like» or «I am eating/I am liking». Nothing in this lesson clarifies this either, despite multiple comments and complaints that it is poorly discussed, and the examples are unsatisfactory.
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