What register of "anyone" would be used to say "she doesn't talk to just anyone"

Yulyvrdcapbilvsyy Z.C1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

What register of "anyone" would be used to say "she doesn't talk to just anyone"

It is a negative sentence, not affirmative, nor a question, so would "personne" be the correct translation? If so, how would you translate the sentence to convey the meaning of "not just anyone meets her standards"? Is there an idiosyncratic French expression for this?


Cheers,

Alec

Asked 3 years ago
Chris W.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor Correct answer

Elle ne parle pas à n'importe qui. -- She doesn't talk to just anyone.

Yulyvrdcapbilvsyy Z.C1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

Merci Chris! Your construction sounds the most plausible to my limited ear. Might then it be fair to conclude that "n'importe qui" could have a function in expressing a negative statement in these narrow circumstances, rather than reverting to "personne"? Because it more adequately suits the idea being expressed of "not just anyone" versus "not anyone (aka personne)"?

Chris W.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

Personne, in a negative sense, means "nobody", which is quite different from "anybody". For "anybody" you need n'importe qui.

Aashpreet K.A1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

Can I also say.... Elle ne parle à personne. [She does not talk to anybody.] ??

Yulyvrdcapbilvsyy Z. asked:

What register of "anyone" would be used to say "she doesn't talk to just anyone"

It is a negative sentence, not affirmative, nor a question, so would "personne" be the correct translation? If so, how would you translate the sentence to convey the meaning of "not just anyone meets her standards"? Is there an idiosyncratic French expression for this?


Cheers,

Alec

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