pareils vs les mêmes

LilyC1Kwiziq community member

pareils vs les mêmes

Hi, in this sentence "the basic principles remain the same.", why I can't translate it as "les principes de base restent pareils?

This question relates to:French writing exercise "A nice table "à la française""

Freeform Writing Exercise B2

Asked 7 months ago

Like1Answer2

CécileKwiziq team memberCorrect answer

Hi Lucy,

My first reaction was that it would be less elegant and with some research it appears that "in less formal French" you could use the adverb 'pareil' to say - do the same / likewise (or remain, in this example).

Bonne Continuation !

Like17 months ago

ChrisC1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

A difference between le même and pareil is that le même talks about two things that are identical, whereas pareil means "similar but not quite identical". That said, this distinction is often blurry and depends on the aspect the speaker wants to emphasize.

Like17 months ago

Lily asked:View original

pareils vs les mêmes

Hi, in this sentence "the basic principles remain the same.", why I can't translate it as "les principes de base restent pareils?

Don't have an account yet? Join today

« "reconnaît le président"I do not understand as well why the last paragraph is in the future tense when the actions like receiving the award in 1998 which is in the past. »

Ask a question

Find your French level for FREE

Test your French to the CEFR standard

Find your French level