“Would” causing confusion “We would gather at the … table”
translates to:
On se retrouvait à la table…
On se rassemblait à la table…
On se réunissait à la table…
How is the “would” in “We would gather” reflected here? How is this different from “we gathered”, “we used to gather”, or “we were gathering”?
Same thing with “and we'd devour …” translating to “et on dévorait…”.
The French imparfait seems natural here. Maybe it’s really the function of the English word “would” that’s confusing me when trying to analyse it. It’s the same word as the conditional “would”, but this is not conditional. It’s not the main verb, e.g. “to gather”. It’s almost like an English imperfect version of “to be”.
Helpful comments welcome!
The "preferred" translation indicates that their son fell asleep "a poings fermes," indicating that he was deeply asleep. I dispute this -- kids may fall asleep with their fists closed, but not tightly unless they are under severe stress. I would suggest that a better indication of deep sleep would be the other suggestion - "il dormait profondement." This is from years of watching a number of sleeping children -- mine and others'. Just a thought....
“We would gather at the … table”
translates to:
On se retrouvait à la table…
On se rassemblait à la table…
On se réunissait à la table…
How is the “would” in “We would gather” reflected here? How is this different from “we gathered”, “we used to gather”, or “we were gathering”?
Same thing with “and we'd devour …” translating to “et on dévorait…”.
The French imparfait seems natural here. Maybe it’s really the function of the English word “would” that’s confusing me when trying to analyse it. It’s the same word as the conditional “would”, but this is not conditional. It’s not the main verb, e.g. “to gather”. It’s almost like an English imperfect version of “to be”.
Helpful comments welcome!
Why is it incorrect to use a definite/indefinite article? Le reveil, un reveil
I note that there are quests in the past to improve the content of this lesson and I am unsure whether any modifications have been made but it is still difficult to determine when devoir is an appropriate answer as well as avoid besoin de and avoir envie de. Is it that there is an infinitive following if so why only devoir and not avoir envie de as in the case of needing to buy a handbag? Surely it could be made clearer - google is not a reasonable guide and I want to understand!
The exercise gives " c'était la boulangerie de Madame Poitier." I tried "Il était...." because we're discussing a specific building. (The grammar lesson on c'est & il/elle est suggests using "il/elle" for specific things). Is there some wriggle room on this one or was I just plain wrong?
Hello,
Your one of the writing practice exercise suggests the translation for "and the accordion used to touch her chin" as "et l'accordéon lui touchait le menton !"
In the lesson above there is no example of usage of pronouns such as "lui".
That is why I am lacking this concept.
Please add this part also above and let me know so that I can enhance my knowledge on the same.
Thanks in advance.
Regards,
Ashish
I appreciate the attempt but for me this project has been a failure. I still have no idea what I would be eating. I have so many questions about this last menu that I don't even know where to start. I am not even clear about the cost. So frustrating!
I don't understand why we use "année" instead of "an", it seems to me that according to the lesson below, we should be using "an".
An vs année, matin vs matinée, jour vs journée, soir vs soirée to express a time unit or a duration in French
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