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Di L.A0Kwiziq community member

Je suis vs. J'ai

Hi, I'm a beginner in French and I always get confused in using Je suis and J'ai. In my head (which thinks in English), sentences like 'I am 20 years old' is not 'Je suis vingt ans' but 'J'ai vingt ans' which literally means 'I have 20 years old'. Is there are hard rule when to use Je suis or J'ai in a sentence?

Asked 3 years ago

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Chris W.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

Difference between "On y va!" and "Allons-y!"I answered "On y va!" and it was marked wrong. I wonder what the difference between "on y va" and "allons-y" really is... Thanks, -- Chris.

Asked 8 years ago

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B. M.B2Kwiziq community member

j'etais v j'ai étéwhen do you use j'etais, tu etais, nous etions etc and when do you use j'ai été, tu as été, nous avons été? they both mean I was, you were etc.

Asked 8 years ago

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Dragana E.C1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

leur or leurs? when does either apply? in what context - I am confused with the plural.

Asked 6 years ago

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Alison R.A1Kwiziq community member

J'adore vs. j'aime vs. j'aime bien?

Can you give me some idea of the relative strength of these? I was showing an apartment (I'm a broker) and the French client used "j'adore" to refer to the countertops... which confused me. To an English speaker, "adore" seems like a cognate, but in English we generally wouldn't say "I adore these countertops" -- that would likely come across as either 1) over-the-top or 2) sarcastic.

Does "j'adore" better translate as "I really like" or "I think these are cool/great"? And is it equal in strength to "j'aime"?

Asked 6 years ago

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Kate K.B2Kwiziq community member

Ce que / Ce qui instead of Que or Qui alone.Hello. I think I understand when to use ce qui instead of ce que and vice versa, but I can't find the lesson that explains when to use ce que / ce qui instead of que or qui alone. Thanks for any help!

Asked 8 years ago

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Linda G.A2Kwiziq community member

Could you say "Comment t'appelles tu?" or "Comment s'appelle t-il?" ?

Asked 8 years ago

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Patrick I.A0Kwiziq community member

Does 'il y a' change when used in the passe compose? for example to say 'there were' two people.