French language Q&A Forum

Can we not just use ''Elle est ma soeur'' and ''Il est le fils de Martha'' ?

Edit: Nevermind, I asked my French friend who told me that you specifically cannot say 'Il/elle est un/une/mon/ma etc' 

This rule only applies to the pronouns 'Il' (he) and 'Elle' (she). 

So I've answered my previous question, so No you cannot say ''Elle est ma soeur'' it has to be ''C'est ma soeur''

I felt like it wasn't explained very in the lesson! (sorry!)  I hope anyone seeing this message finds this helpful.

Please let me now what does SE SONT RAPPORTE' means in this context

Example above we have used "Ils ont été" to mean "they were", however I learned elsewhere that to say one was, in the past, we always use imparfait, which in this case would have been "ils étaient". Please help me understand.

can't ı say that "Il faut qu’elle soit partie avant midi."= she  must have finished your homework...
 title of the lesson is "Il faut que is always followed by Le Subjonctif Présent"
I think it must be uncorrect 

I know il/elle are pronouns - which stands in for a noun. So, if you are referring to a specific noun, then you use the pronoun: "où est mon frère? Il est dans sa chambre."  However, "ce" is a demonstrative adjective. Maybe, c'est is an abbreviated way of saying "this thing/person is... So "C'est mon frère" is like saying "This (person) is my brother." I don't know if this way of thinking will work for all examples, but I hope I am on the right track. 

What does "I was in a line this morning" mean?

This question has been asked in one of the tests where there was a blank given for "de" and expected to be filled with an article contracté. Is "de" indeed an article contracté here? I'm doubtful.

Hi,

I have a question regarding "lequel"...

I still dont get when to use "que" and "lequel".....

There is one sentence i found from online news article and the use of "lequel" in it confuses me..

Le racisme, c'est l'idée selon laquelle l'espèce humaine serait composée de plusieurs races différentes.

It is literally the first sentence of the article and so nothing has been mentioned before that sentence. Regardless the "laquelle" has been used along with "selon", preposition. Also, when I translate it based on a dictionary, it means "according to which". It sounds so weird if i apply it onto the whole sentence. 

So, my questions are.......

1. is it necessary to use "selon laquelle or can I simply use "que" instead? (Like "c'est l'idée QUE l'espèce humaine serait....")

2. And just like "dans lequel" which can simply translate as "where(=où)", does "selon lequel" also mean something simple other than its dictionary meaning, "according to which"? 

I would appreciate for any reply!

Il y a quelques jours j’ai écouté un podcast sur lequel la présentatrice a parlé de ‘faire les courses’. 

Elle a décrit un  panier avec deux petites roues qu’on utilise pour apporter les achats chez lui. (Surtout utilisés par les grand-mères!). Je pense elle a dit que ce panier s’appelle « un chariot », et the trolley on utilise au supermarché s’appelle « un caddie » C’est correcte ou pas?

It's more obvious when we're talking about a positive sentence like:

But when it is negative:

ni l'un ni l'autre = pas l'un et pas l'autre => so it can be plural no? 

Multiple sources suggest both singular and plural verb forms are possible for ni l'un ni l'autre:

http://bdl.oqlf.gouv.qc.ca/bdl/gabarit_bdl.asp?id=1490#:~:text=Lorsque%20le%20sujet%20est%20ni,deux%20noms%20coordonn%C3%A9s%2C%20est%20pluriel.

https://www.gymglish.com/fr/frantastique-orthographe/regles-orthographe/ni-lun-ni-lautre-nanont-raison

https://www.btb.termiumplus.gc.ca/tpv2guides/guides/clefsfp/index-fra.html?lang=fra&lettr=indx_catlog_n&page=9WmCJCDuX_J0.html