En train de or être trichants

Question

Run into a problem with this one.. I am interpreting cheating as an ongoing state rather than something that is happening at this instant and, from the choices available, thought "être trichants" to better reflect that than "en train de".. this was in a general test and not specifically testing "en train de"

What would be the best way to say... "He realizes you're cheating."?

Il réalise que vous êtes en train de tricher.

Il réalise que vous êtes trichants.

Accepted Answer

I think the most likely form would be using "être en train de..." if you were referring to someone caught in the act of cheating.
Il réalise que vous êtes en train de tricher. -- He realizes that you are (in the process of) cheating.

Answer

Hi Chris.. that is the whole point.. the English here implies that this is a state of affairs and says nothing about whether or not anything is happening at this precise moment. That is why I am suggesting that "en train de" may not be an appropriate translation... you are absolutely correct that if the cheater is caught In flagrante it is en train de, in the act of.

Answer

Bonjour Mark,
Reminder: 'trichant' is a present participle. You won't find it in an expression such as 'être trichant'. 
See the examples below:

Je l'ai vu trichant aux cartes = I saw him/her cheating in a card game
Il a gagné la partie en trichant  = He won the game by cheating 
Un compétiteur trichant aux cartes a été exclu de la partie = a participant, cheating in a card game, has been excluded from the game

I hope this is helpful.
Bonne journée !

Answer

I doubt that "vous êtes trichants" is possible. It looks suspiciously like a literal translation of the English "you are cheating", but there is no present progressive tense in French.

Answer

Thanks Céline.. clearly elle est trichant is incorrect.. but en train de still seems completely wrong in the context of a state rather than something that is happening at the present time.

Have checked with Linguee.. uses qu'elle vous trompe.. which gets round the problem

Answer

Mark, it is leaving “être en train de” out of the sentence that achieves what you are after and it isn’t necessary in your example sentence if all you want to say is ‘…you cheat’ or ‘…you are cheating’, as opposed to ‘…. you are (currently in the act of) cheating’.

Tromper (cheat on) is fine for the 2nd example given, but not an exact substitute for tricher in all contexts.

Answer

Thanks Maarten.. yes, either tricher or tromper would work and simply using the présent indicatif.... Still have the problem that the question is demanding en train de!.. which was the reason for my post.

Chris is flagged as the correct answer and is correct as far as it goes but is not answering my point.