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15,064 questions • 32,722 answers • 1,040,644 learners
Thinking...
Questions answered by our learning community with help from expert French teachers
15,064 questions • 32,722 answers • 1,040,644 learners
So you can only use these expressions (attaching 'aine') with the quantities shown above? How would I say '35 or so apples' for example?
Here we use Passé composé because the use of the negation ne ... pas insists on the fact that the action stopped happening at the specific time mentioned (since/for) in the past.
If we used Présent indicatif here, it would make it sound like the action "keeps on stopping" during the given length of time.
To say that a (recurring) action in the past has now stopped happening with depuis, you can also use Présent indicatif with ne ... plus (not any more) instead of ne ... pas:
Tu ne bois plus d'alcool depuis cinq ans.You haven't drunk alcohol for five years.What is the difference between these two?
When we use "nous", is the object always referred to in the singular, such as "notre horloge"?
Elle m'en donne quatre toutes les semaines. Is said to be the correct translation of She gives me four every week. Why is it that the "of them" is understood in English but not in French? Maybe I'm being difficult, but it would seem that the "of them" should be clear either from the preceding information or just clear to whoever is hearing the phrase. Please clarify -- is this another French idiosyncrasy???
Bonjour!
Here baby in French means "le bebe" as "le" here is it a male baby or a baby in general and if it is a female baby can we replace it with "la" as in " la bebe "
Hello -
I'm still confused about why "Nous nous habillions à 6 heures et demie", "We got dressed at half past 6", is imparfait and not passe compose. This seems to be one specific event (not describing a repeated action), is complete, has a clear beginning (6:30), and isn't an opinion or (I don't think) story background. What rule would I use to know it's imparfait?
I thought "gâter" already had a nice sound for to spoil, but then I discover 'chouchouter' in this lesson, and my wife mentions 'dorloter'. They all just sound so 'right' for the sentiment to me. « Ma belle-sœur me chouchoute toujours avec une bonne choucroute. » Can't wait to hit her with that on the next Skype !
On a more grounded note: 'goes and walk the dog', would be either 'goes to walk the dog' (which is fine for the translation) or 'goes and walks the dog', at least in my part of the world.
Also, "la TV" is actually listed in both wordreference and Larousse (to my surprise) - TV is currently not accepted in translation, although it was used in the English script.
why is: You had your curtains changed, translated as "Tu as fait changer tes rideaux."
I understood that "had" uses the plus-que-parfait?
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