It was and old castle

Ian B.C1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

It was and old castle

An old castle is still an old castle.  If it was an old castle, that implies it is something else now but formerly it was an old castle.  It was an old castle that we just saw OR what we are looking at not was an old castle but no longer is'

Serious ambiguity in the question. Either answer could be correct depending on context


How would you say: ''It was an ancient castle.''C'était un château ancien.C'était un ancien château.
Asked 3 years ago
CécileKwiziq team memberCorrect answer

Hi Ian, 

I have had a look at the Kwiz question.

"How would you say : It was an ancient castle "

ancient meaning old - 

the only correct answer ( using 'ancien' meaning 'vieux' before the noun) is 

C'était un château ancien

If you said,  'Cétait un ancien château' it would mean that the building had been a château and was now used for a different purpose, it would still be old but the emphasis is on what it had been previously.

Hope this helps!

STEPHEN W.C1Kwiziq community member

This old castle was an old castle but is now a museum, so it was formally a castle but is no longer a castle. This question is not specific enough ! Although WAS a castle, infers it is no longer a castle ! Clear as mud !!!

STEPHEN W.C1Kwiziq community member

This old castle was an old castle but is now a museum, so it was formally a castle but is no longer a castle. This question is not specific enough ! Although WAS a castle, infers it is no longer a castle ! Clear as mud !!!

It was and old castle

An old castle is still an old castle.  If it was an old castle, that implies it is something else now but formerly it was an old castle.  It was an old castle that we just saw OR what we are looking at not was an old castle but no longer is'

Serious ambiguity in the question. Either answer could be correct depending on context


How would you say: ''It was an ancient castle.''C'était un château ancien.C'était un ancien château.

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