French language Q&A Forum

I read somewhere that ne ... pas and ne ...point were the first negative constructions in the evolution of the French language. I can just imagine someone trekking through the woods in Old French times and saying, "Not another step."  Or a tired monk in some scriptorium copying over an illegible text and saying, "Not another period."

I don't understand "le tout".

Is "le" article or pronoun? 

Does "tout" mean "everything"? Is it an adjective or pronoun or noun? 

My French friend says it should be "claustrophobe"? Is that right? Please help clarify.

What do you do in the case of "il faut que" such as "Il faut que j'aille faire les courses."    On second reference, you wouldn't say, "il le faut?"  Could you say "" Il faut que j'y aille" or "Je le dois?"  Or, does this "le" rule not apply to Il faut que?  Scrambled here!:)

The lesson seems to indicate that this separation is  'allowed' but 'irregular'.

 However it seems frequent and intrinsic enough in some translations to deserve identifying and defining as a rule of syntax.

If the 'possession' is the 'object' of the verb in the following clause then it is separated from dont and put after the verb in that clause. 'Dont' here is like a relative pronoun joining two clauses. All the examples support this  observation.

Tu as jeté la chaussure dont le talon est cassé.You threw away the shoe with the broken heel [lit. whose heel is broken]

BUT???Tu as jeté la chaussure chère dont  j'ai cassé  le talon.

Les enfants, dont je connais la maman, sont bien élevés.
François, dont j'ai rencontré la femme le mois dernier