"marcher" vs. "aller a pied"

AnnaC1Kwiziq community member

"marcher" vs. "aller a pied"

In the question presented, it said she had missed her bus and therefore had to ____________.  I put "aller a pied" and the answer came up as "marcher".  This does not seem to agree  with the explication in the lesson.

Anna

Asked 2 years ago
CélineKwiziq team memberCorrect answer

Bonjour Anna,

The answer to this question is correct. You are right that 'aller à pied' is indeed used when "walking is contrasted with another means of transport". However, with 'aller à pied' the destination has to be mentioned in the sentence as shown in the lesson / examples. 

Elle a manqué son bus. Elle doit y aller à pied = She missed her bus. She must walk there

Il va au travail à pied he walks to work

Attention - Remember: In French you never say il va (= he goes) on its own but rather 'il va au lit' (he goes to bed)  / 'il va à vélo' (he cycles') because 'aller' is either followed by the destination or by an expression explaining how one "goes". 

I hope this is helpful.

Bonne journée !

ChrisC1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

Aller à pied doesn't seem wrong to me either.

Edit: I stand corrected. Thanks Cécile!

AnnaC1Kwiziq community member

Well, thanks.  I've studied French on and off for more than 50 years. Have a (rusty) degree in it. I don't remember EVER being told that "aller" has to have a destination. That's why we keep learning

CélineKwiziq team member

Bonjour Anna,

I have edited my answer - see edit (last paragragh). 

It is true that learning a language can take a long time. I have an degree in English Literature and I am still learning grammatical intricacies from time to time. It is a constant process, I'm afraid! However, practice makes perfect! ;-) 

Bonne journée !

"marcher" vs. "aller a pied"

In the question presented, it said she had missed her bus and therefore had to ____________.  I put "aller a pied" and the answer came up as "marcher".  This does not seem to agree  with the explication in the lesson.

Anna

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