Wondering about my alternative answers

Question

I put in some different answers from what was accepted and wondered if any of the following were possible.

1. For "I really need to save", is it OK to use "il faut vraiment", or does "absolument" always naturally go with "il faut" ?

2. For "I've stopped buying expensive brands", can I also use the reflexive "Je me suis arrêtée d'acheter des marques chères" ?

3. For "and instead I've tried the supermarket brands" can we use "au lieu" in place of "à la place"?; and finally :

4. For "I must admit", can the verb "avouer" replace "admettre", as in "Je dois l'avouer..." or does this have a different sense ?

Thanks

Accepted Answer

Bonjour Paul,
As you know, it is not always possible to add all the alternatives for one structure as there can be an huge array of choices. But we do our best to do so. In these types of exercises, use your own judgement at times. ;-)
1. "il faut vraiment" is correct.
2. "Je me suis arrêtée d'acheter des marques chères" would be correct here.
3. "au lieu" doesn't work in this context. You use this expression as follows:
au lieu de + [something] / au lieu de + [verb]
4. After discussing with the French team, we've added "avouer" and "reconnaître" as alternatives.
I hope this is helpful.
Bonne journée !

Answer

I have the same queries 1 and 4 that Paul lists!!!!