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In the exercise quelques livres is translated as a couple of books as well as some books.

KarenC1Kwiziq community member

In the exercise quelques livres is translated as a couple of books as well as some books.

In English I was always taught that strictly "couple" means two and it's a misuse to use it otherwise.  Can you explain why quelques therefore translates as some and two?  Thank you.
This question relates to:French lesson "Quelque(s) vs (un) peu de = A couple/a few vs a bit of/few (indefinite adjectives)"
Asked 2 years ago
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CécileKwiziq team memberCorrect answer

Hi K,

In my experience, a couple of, in English is used for 2 or thereabouts.

We don't have such an expression for very small approximate quantities in French as they start with the number 10:

Une dizaine, une vingtaine, une trentaine etc.. which mean about 10, 20, 30 ...

so Quelques, meaning a few, ( an indeterminate small quantity) can be some, a few or a couple of depending on the context.

Some will often be 'des'.

Hope this helps!

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Karen asked:View original

In the exercise quelques livres is translated as a couple of books as well as some books.

In English I was always taught that strictly "couple" means two and it's a misuse to use it otherwise.  Can you explain why quelques therefore translates as some and two?  Thank you.

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