“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!
In which lesson can I find the future simple conjugation of Prévoir? It seems to have a different pattern than explained in this lesson for VOIR or REVOIR. Isn't it a VOIR derivative. Please help.
Edit: I have since found out that I pretty much answered my own question.
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 "
An example above :
Cette soirée s'est très bien passée.That evening went very well.
Isn't "that evening" a precise moment (a particular evening) ?
Is "Il faut payer ..." a possibility here?
Ma femme viendra nous rejoindre après avoir couché le bébé.
My wife will come and join us after putting the baby to sleep.
(HINT: Use 'coucher' (to put to bed))
I put:
Ma femme viendra nous rejoindre après être couché le bébé.
I thought coucher takes être as its auxiliary. Does that only apply when its reflexive? Or is there some other problem?
“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!
I think this lesson, and any question relating to it, should be removed until a clear lesson is written.
Find your French level for FREE
And get your personalised Study Plan to improve it
Find your French level