French language Q&A Forum
Questions answered by our learning community with help from expert French teachers
14,697 questions • 31,856 answers • 968,344 learners
I'll be right with you...
Questions answered by our learning community with help from expert French teachers
14,697 questions • 31,856 answers • 968,344 learners
I understand that, as a general rule, in French, we add definite articles before a country’s name. E.g.: J’aime la France. However, I also understand that if the country’s name comes after “de”, and the country is feminine, then, we omit the definite article. E.g.: Je viens de France. However, I am terribly confused by the phrase “Au service de la France” - why is there a definite article after “de” in this phrase?
Why is fascinee given with a feminine suffix in the sentence "Je n'ai jamais eu l'occasion d'y aller, mais ca m'a toujours fascinee." What does it refer to? Le cimitiere, peut -etre?? It doesn't appear that there is a feminine object for it to describe. Please explain
va au college
Unrelated but in the example "Elle est descendue à la cave chercher une bouteille de vin." Why wasn't "pour chercher" used rather than just "chercher"? Is there a difference in meaning?
Bonjour,
Hello I was wondering for one of your example sentences you use le not sur why not sur?
On aime aller se balader le weekend.
Thanks
Nicole
too difficult!
Hi,
"chat" is a masculine noun in French, but can I use it to refer to my female cat?
When I'm talking about her, e.g. my cat is going to eat her breakast, do I still say
"Mon chat vas manger son petit-dejeuner?"
What is the best way of talking about my female cat in this context?
In the lesson i wrote Tu me RAPELLE ta mere; but the correct answer is given as RAPELLES, which seems like a plural
For "Lake Geneva" the hint given was that in French it is "le lac Leman/le lac de Genève" but the answer had "Lac" capitalised - "ses vues époustouflantes du Lac Léman/ du Lac de Genève". So wondering whether it was the hint or the answer that was correct, or whether both forms are allowed. Thanks.
I am a bit confused about how to translate certain uses of the present participle of an English verb. Sometimes the French use the construction, en + present participle, and and at other times they use à + infinitive. This story has two examples. The first: "...was dragging on the ground while making a horrible rattling noise." 'While making' is translated as 'en faisant', i.e. en + present participle. The second example: "Michel and his dad had spent whole weekends fixing..." This translation of the present participle 'fixing' (one could also think of while fixing to align with the first example) is 'à réparer', i.e. à + infinitive. Are these two constructions simply options, i.e. one could use either, or is there some guidance as to when to use one or the other? I hope my question is clear. Thanks in advance. BTW, I loved the theme for the workout as it has practical application since most of us drive. Also, I was impressed that a native French person would know Americain slang like 'beater'.
Find your French level for FREE
And get your personalised Study Plan to improve it
Find your French level