Choice of tense

Hi Patrick,

It is quite normal to use the present in this situation   --> "On arrive dans deux minutes"

To express "we will be there in 2 minutes"

You haven't made reference to the lesson or quiz that is the source of your query.

Bonne journée

Jim

Thank you for your reply.   However, I am afraid it does not answer the question I was trying to ask.  I think "arriver" can be translate as "am going to arrive," and hence it would be quite logical for it to be used in the present tense.     But should "we will be there in 2 minutes" be better translated as "nous y serons dans deux minutes" or "nous sommes là dans deux minutes" or either ?

You are quite right I did not give the ref of the quiz that gave rise to my question, which is: https://progress.lawlessfrench.com/my-languages/french/tests/take/3957672

Salut de nouveau Patrick,

Thanks for the link to the exercise that you are querying.

The first point that comes to mind is that the exercise is to do with être in the present.

So "nous y serons dans deux minutes" cannot be valid. "On est là dans deux minutes" is correct (I have just carried out the test myself)

Knowing now that the immediate above is correct, we can take it that "Nous sommes là dans deux minutes" would also be correct.

Hope this helps move things on for you?  If not, then let's see what a staff expert can offer.

Bonne journée

Jim

Thanks for your reply Jim, yes you are right that the exercise specifies "on..." , but I am afraid I still do not understand what would be wrong with using the future tense (ie "on sera là dans 2 minutes).  If somebody could explain why that does not work, I would be very grateful.

Hello Cécile, thank you for your reply, but I am afraid that I am still unclear about the answer.  Regardless of that particular quiz, is "on sera là dans 2 minutes" correct French or should one say "on est là dans 2 minutes" ?  I hope you do not think I am being difficult, it seems such a simple question I was hoping that the answer would be simple too.