In the exercise quelques livres is translated as a couple of books as well as some books.
- « Back to Q&A Forum
- « Previous questionNext question »
KarenKwiziq 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 1 year ago
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!
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.
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