French language Q&A Forum

Why the hyphens in "pas - aussi - monstrueuse?"

In the examples given, 

C'est pratique, les ciseaux. 

There is an adverb and a noun. Why would this not be ce sont? is les ciseaux similar to par of jeans? Where it is plural but acts singular? If this is so it is a slightly confusing example. Thank you. 

In the discussion following several of the lessons, there are often questions like Donna's. And, without being unkind to the wonderful moderators/teachers,  in NONE of the answers had I seen a really 'eureka' moment of clarification.

And then I searched THE SITE  and came across this amazing lesson!

It is brilliant and clears up so much. I think that lesson should be included as a ' 'highlighted related lesson'' to this one and others like ' avoir peur'.

Additionally, in the lesson quoted above there is coverage of phrases meaning  "all/specific/adjectivally modified" nouns.

Two great examples of 'avoir envie' are given.

" Il a envie de bon chocolat. He wants (some) good chocolate."

"Il a envie du bon chocolat que tu m’as donné. He wants the good chocolate that you gave me."

Please add or indicate why NOT a similar distinction for the very common 'avoir besoin'.

You have

 "J’ai besoin de bonnes chaussures. I need (some) good shoes."

If I were to say to a store clerk "I need (the) special shoes with the orthopedic lifts" would I say ;

 "J’ai besoin des  chaussures spéciales  avec orthopédie."

Merci! Looking forward to the answer.

What's the difference between Fondre vs Faire Fondre?

Why are these 2 words "fascine and intimide"  not written in the passé composé.  

What role does the '-t-' play here?

According to a lesson, "tous" should be placed between the auxiliary verb and the past participle  

In sentence i had to take it with me you have used je devais le prendre avec moi but as per lesson we should have used passé composé because the sentence is i had to

You have used une in vous êtes une artiste but as i learnt from you that don't use un or une before any profession 

I am confused by the quizzes I am taking on when to use "devoir" and "avoir un besoin de" for "need to". The first question was: "How could you say 'You need to rest?'" I answered that both "Tu as besoin de repos" and "Tu dois de repos" are possible but was told only the first is correct. So, in the second test, when asked how to say "Marie needs to buy a new handbag", I answered only "Marie a un  besoin de ..." but was marked wrong for not ALSO choosing "Marie doit acheté..." Finally, on the third quiz, I was asked how to say "You need a new bike." In this case I chose both "avoir besoin de" and "devez..." but this time, like in the first question, I was told only the "avoir besoin de" is correct. I've studied the lesson several times. It says sometimes "devoir" can mean "need to" but it doesn't explain what those times are, and I cannot figure out any distinction in the three sentences above. Aidez moi, svp!