hi room, experts
Please explain translation 'And although the majority among us thought they had no ideas' - ''Et bien que la majorité d'entre nous pense n'avoir aucune idée',
Two aspect are confusing me about this translation:
1) Why is the French written in present tense whereas the english is in the past
2) What happened to the translation of 'They'? in the French translation I cannot see that the word 'They' has been translated?
Hi Paris,
To add to what Chris said -
1. Bien que la majorité ... pense n'avoir aucune idée
Pense is in the subjunctive present ( because of bien que )
The other possibility given is -
Bien que la majorité ... pensât ...( which an subjunctive imperfect )
Hope this helps!
A (literal) English translation would be: "And although the majority of us thinks not having any idea..." Rendering this in more palatable English: "And although the majority of us thinks we have no idea...".
As you see, the subject (the majority of us) is the same, it doesn't need to be repeated in French, although in English it really needs to be.
Don't have an account yet? Join today
Test your French to the CEFR standard
Find your French level