French language Q&A Forum

Can ensuite be replaced with puis in this sentence?  Are the two interchangeable or is there a slight difference in usage?

Hi there,

I was wondering if someone could explain a little more in detail why we use the present tense in the following example:

"Depuis que je suis toute petite, tout ce qui est français me fascine."

I think I kind of get it for the fascination piece, but not the "since I was little".

Thanks!

The first sentence uses J'ai passe' for "I have passed."  To me, this should be je passais (imparfait).  The writer is not describing a unique instance of an event in the past but rather he is making a general description of his actions in the past.  He is describing multiple instances.

Après qu’il fut parti, tu détruisis toutes ses affaires. 

What tense is “il fut parti”?  It appears to be a compound tense with the auxiliary verb in passé simple. 

What is “dès” in “dès l’âge de 3 ans?” Should it be “des?” I have never seen it with the accent.

The student is referred to the future tense of savoir when the conditionnel is employed by the speaker.

Why is it "disparaisse" and not "ait disparu"? Because at the time of the story being told (two days before she disappeared) she had not yet disappeared?

The English translations of the futur anterieur listed here don't make sense to me. For example,  "you will have been able to sing on stage"  -- what does that even mean? 

 It does make more sense if the word "would'' was used in the English translation. As in: "If you had been there, you would have been able to sing on stage." But to use "will" doesn't seem correct. 

Do all inverted verbs use the subjunctive?

For example, I know that 'Penses-tu qu'il sache conduire?' is right, but does this apply to all inverted verbs? 

Why is it incorrect to say the second phrase?

Tu en tenais deux

T'en tenais deux