Devoir (and its discontents)After I had had to do my homework, I went for a walk.Really? No native English speaker would ever say this. One might say "After I did my homework, I went for a walk" but that doesn't mean what I think the question writer is after.
Having had to do something is a state of being, not something after which one takes a walk. Consider a work around to what is said: "After being in a position where I was required to do my homework, I took a walk." Weird, awkward, unidiomatic, and just strange. If this question was written by a native English speaker, it was surely in pursuit of teaching the plupurfect of devoir, which I never hear in conversation. It is something taught but in my experience never used and really never needed. Apparently, whatever exists on the conjugation chart has to be worked into a question....
When I took French in 60s, the pluperfect of devoir was translated as "must have", but I only hear the passe compose in cases where the pluperfect might have worked. Again, I never hear this said and rarely written.
Anyway you look at it, devoir in the past is a condition - not something that happens before something else happens. So no more is needed than the passe compose IMO.....
Marie chante ________ Eric. Marie sings as well as Eric.I put aussi bien que Éric.. The required answer aussi bien qu'Eric. ..thought here was an exception here for proper names?
Two options offered in answers for the last sentence. When do we use suivre de (qqch) and when suivre (qqch)? Thank you
Is there a lesson that clearly compares when to use each of these. I'm struggling to distinguish between the three and was hoping for a side by side comparison.
Thanks.
When saying something like 'It is pretty'... How do you know when you use 'c'est' vs 'Il/elle est'?
Hello, I know that "œufs" has an irregular pronunciation, but I may have done better had there been a gentle reminder of that before starting the exercise. I kept entering "eu" even though it didn't make any sense. (My fault, I know :)
Not noted in the lesson but the spelling reforms (1990) resulted in both «plaît» and «plait» being accepted (confirmed with Le Robert). The quiz bot is 'marking' the latter spelling as «nearly correct». Report also submitted directly from quiz.
Really? No native English speaker would ever say this. One might say "After I did my homework, I went for a walk" but that doesn't mean what I think the question writer is after.
Having had to do something is a state of being, not something after which one takes a walk. Consider a work around to what is said: "After being in a position where I was required to do my homework, I took a walk." Weird, awkward, unidiomatic, and just strange. If this question was written by a native English speaker, it was surely in pursuit of teaching the plupurfect of devoir, which I never hear in conversation. It is something taught but in my experience never used and really never needed. Apparently, whatever exists on the conjugation chart has to be worked into a question....
When I took French in 60s, the pluperfect of devoir was translated as "must have", but I only hear the passe compose in cases where the pluperfect might have worked. Again, I never hear this said and rarely written.
Anyway you look at it, devoir in the past is a condition - not something that happens before something else happens. So no more is needed than the passe compose IMO.....
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