Grammatically Incorrect Translation

Jeffrey B.C1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

Grammatically Incorrect Translation

The English translation "I'm washing after you got up" is grammatically incorrect. You're essentially saying "I'm doing this after you did that", which makes no sense in English. The proper structure would be "I'm washing after you get up" (I'm doing this after you do that") or "I'm washing after you have gotten up" ("I'm doing this after you have done that").

This is one of the most frustrating things in studying any language, when you see a direct translation given that you know is grammatically incorrect (even if it is understandable by somebody who's fluent in the language that the sentence is being translated into) instead of a transliteration that makes more sense.

Asked 2 years ago
Jeffrey B. asked:

Grammatically Incorrect Translation

The English translation "I'm washing after you got up" is grammatically incorrect. You're essentially saying "I'm doing this after you did that", which makes no sense in English. The proper structure would be "I'm washing after you get up" (I'm doing this after you do that") or "I'm washing after you have gotten up" ("I'm doing this after you have done that").

This is one of the most frustrating things in studying any language, when you see a direct translation given that you know is grammatically incorrect (even if it is understandable by somebody who's fluent in the language that the sentence is being translated into) instead of a transliteration that makes more sense.

Sign in to submit your answer

Don't have an account yet? Join today

Ask a question

Find your French level for FREE

Test your French to the CEFR standard

Find your French level
I'll be right with you...