S'accroupir v tapir

Nick H.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

S'accroupir v tapir

l'homme avec un couteau qui était tapi derrière le fauteuil familier de la femme / the man with a knife who was crouching behind the woman's familiar armchair

An alternative correct answer to the above was "...qui tapissait derrière..."

In that case, shouldn't (my answer) "...qui s'accroupissait derrière...' also be acceptable? 



Asked 1 year ago
CécileNative French expert teacher in KwiziqCorrect answer

Hi Nick,

The answer is yes and no but  'était accroupi' is given as a possible answer.

You cannot use the imparfait of s'accroupir here as it denotes an action rather than the result of the action.

It is a bit like the verb s'asseoir

Il était assis derrière le canapé = He was sat ( seated) behind the sofa

Il s'asseyait toujours à côté d'elle sur le lit = He used to sit next to her on the bed

The verb 'se tapir' is more to be hiding somewhere which is a longer action -

https://www.larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais/se_tapir/76664

 

Hope this helps!

S'accroupir v tapir

l'homme avec un couteau qui était tapi derrière le fauteuil familier de la femme / the man with a knife who was crouching behind the woman's familiar armchair

An alternative correct answer to the above was "...qui tapissait derrière..."

In that case, shouldn't (my answer) "...qui s'accroupissait derrière...' also be acceptable? 



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