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David R.A2Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor
Nous étions ou nous avons été?

Nous avons été très surpris en apprenant la nouvelle.

We were really surprised when we heard the news.

I would have used nous étions instead of nous avons été. Is that not correct?

In English nous avons été très surpris translates to - We have been very surprised which implies the surprise happened and is still ongoing or at least has a prolonged duration, whereas nous étions translates to - We were, which implies it happened but is no longer ongoing. The latter seems to be the correct answer to this question especially since being surprised is usually a point in time thing.

Asked 5 years ago
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Gwen E.C1Kwiziq community member
Dîner vs Déjeuner

Hi, I live in Québec and I've been here for quite a while now. Whenever people want to refer to lunch here, they use dîner. Déjeuner is used to mean breakfast, and souper is used to mean lunch. The test said I was wrong when I translated lunch as dîner and I understand that since in France it means a completely different mealtime. Just wanted to post this so that others could be aware of the different vocabulary we use in Québec, since it was really confusing to me for a long time.

Asked 2 years ago
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Danica W.C1Kwiziq community member
Quel âge as toi?
Asked 7 years ago
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P. F.A1Kwiziq community member
Can I say 'je prends un break (ou une pause) ?
Asked 8 years ago
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Anushree M.A0Kwiziq community member
Es and ezWhy is there a difference : tu habites and  habitez- vous. Es in ending of habitate in tu and ez in vous?
Asked 7 years ago
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Jennifer C.C1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor
Passer devant vs passer parPasser devant chez-toi, I understand, means to go passed your house, but passer par chez-toi, to pop in to your house, or pass by (but not go in) or both ?
Asked 9 years ago
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John I.B2Kwiziq community member
Verb conjuction after Chaqun(e) des .....I noticed in the examples the conjugation is in the singular form and not plural, ie, chaqune des femmes apporte un plat (and not apportent un plat). Is there a simple way to explain this for me to remember (ie I want to say "chaqune des femmes" is more than one lady, so it is "they", so it's "elles apportent". I know its not the case here, but not sure why...?)
Asked 9 years ago
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Jim C.C1Kwiziq community member
Vocabulaire: docteur / médecin

Est-ce qu’il y a une différence entre le docteur et le médecin?

Asked 4 years ago
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Don P.C1Kwiziq community member
What about sentences that end with "non."In this context, is a sentence that ends with "non" (like "Tu as faim, non ?") considered a positive or negative question? I am guessing it is positive, and that an affirmative answer would be made with "oui" instead of "si."
Asked 8 years ago
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Joan C.A1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor
what is the difference between "réussir à + noun" and "réussir + noun"?
Asked 6 years ago
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