French language Q&A Forum

I know that typically, retourner is used to mean "to go back" and rendre is used to mean "to give back." But on this page: https://www.lawlessfrench.com/grammar/auxiliary-verbs-2/ , which discusses using variable auxiliary verbs in the passé composé, it mentions that retourner can also be used transitively and in that case, it changes its meaning to "to give back." So in the passé composé, can retourner be used in the same way that rendre is?

For example, would both of these be correct?

1. J'ai rendu le livre à la bibliothèque.

2. J'ai retourné le livre à la bibliothèque.

Hi! I was translating the sentence "Marie invited Julie to go to a concert. 

And the right answer was "Marie a invité Julie à un concert". 

Can I know the reason for which "à" and "un" are not contracted here please? 

Thank you in advance. 

Est-ce-que tes affaires sont dans la valise?

If want to use y in this sentence, can I say, " ils y sont"?

Hello everyone, 

I was wondering if this sentence must always be written in this Order: 

François, dont j'ai rencontré la femme le mois dernier.

The lesson says that there are cases in which we find the possession separated by a verb, but there is no explanation about whether that is a rule that must always followed or is another way of expressing things.

Is it correct to write it like this?

François, dont la femme j'ai rencontré  le mois dernier.

Thanks!

Hi,

I have read the below but it's still not clear to me. What is the difference between:

J'ai descendu les escaliers...

Je suis descendu du train...

Why is "Je lui envoye une massage" instead of "Je l'envoye une massage?" Thanks

Well known attractions of France.

Its currency and republic day

Its fashion.

T

Its french flag

My question is about a quiz question in this unit: "J'ai décidé d'apprendre à jouer du piano cette année." How do you know it's "apprendre *à* jouer" instead of "apprendre *de* jouer," for example. I think that French verbs differ in this respect, but I haven't seen any systematic explanation of it, and I don't even know how to talk about it in a way that could make internet search productive. Do you have any teaching materials about this, or can you help me to understand it better? Thanks in advance.