in present and future tense
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Mieke v.Kwiziq community member
in present and future tense
Hi, do I understand it correctly that one always uses ou regardless of the tense? Like for example in "the day I will marry" or "today is the day I go skiing for the first time" or something like that?
This question relates to:French lesson "Où can mean where AND when (French Relative Pronouns)"
Asked 7 years ago
Ron T. Kwiziq Q&A super contributor
Bonsoir Mieke,
So here is the reference part from the lesson with the examples:
«Le jour où il a gagné le match.
The day (when/that) he won the game.
La semaine où ils sont restés à l’hôtel s’est vite terminée.
The week (in which) they stayed at the hotel went quickly.
L’époque où il vivait était dangereuse.
The era (in which) he lived was dangerous.The era he lived in was dangerous.
Note that in sentences where the relative pronoun introduces actions taking place during a previously mentioned time frame, you will also use où to express when or that/in which.»
So to answer your question, the answer is no because «où» is only used in phrases that begin with a relative pronoun, in this case «où» and the subsequent action took place during a previously mentioned time frame. Example: «où il vivait était dangereuse» here is «où» followed by a verb in l'imparfait (historic action). This was preceded by this time frame: «L’époque»
J'espère que ma réponse vous aidera.
Bonne chance.
Mieke v.Kwiziq community member
Hi Ron,
Thanks for your response. I am still a bit confused though. Initially I thought that one only uses “ou” when it refers to a situation that takes place in the past, because in the examples this is always so. But in the quiz the sentence Le jour ________ j'arrête de fumer, les poules auront des dents is used. That is why I thought that perhaps you can also use “ou” when a description in present or future time is concerned. So how would you translate “the day (that) I will marry?
Thanks!
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