Hi Debra,
I have checked with Aurélie and the correct answer is:
"Ça sent le pain".
The verb sentir is an interesting verb as it is more general and vague than the verb to smell in English.
1.
Sentir is first of all used to express the sense of smell:
2.
Sentir can also be used in a larger sense to express to feel something:
3.
And in some cases, sentir can even be used to express taste, in a very general context of 'sensing' the presence of an ingredient for example:
ATTENTION:
You use the same structure - sentir [quelque chose] - to express both to smell/feel/taste [something] AND to smell like/of [something].
Note that in the case of smell like/of, you always use definite articles le, la, l', les as the simile is general.
Since the structure is the same, it is only the context that makes the meaning clear:
Tu sens la friture, c'est dégoûtant !
You smell of fried food, it's disgusting!
Tu sens la friture dans cette rue?
Do you smell the fried food on that street ?
Special cases
Look at the following fixed expressions in French:
Tu sens la rose aujourd'hui !
You smell good today!
Ouh là là ! Ils ne sentent pas la rose !
Wow! They smell nasty!
Attention ! Ça ne sent pas la rose là-dedans !
Careful! It smells nasty in here!
- sentir la rose, which means to smell good, literally 'to smell of roses'
- ne pas sentir la rose, which means to smell bad/nasty, literally 'to not smell of roses'
See also the more advanced Using 'sentir bon' and 'se sentir bien'
Learn more about these related French grammar topics
Examples and resources
Tu sens la rose aujourd'hui !
You smell good today!
Est-ce que tu sens la tomate ?
Do you taste the tomato?
Ouh là là ! Ils ne sentent pas la rose !
Wow! They smell nasty!
Est-ce qu'elle sent ça ?
Does she feel that?
Ça fait mal?
- Non, je ne sens rien.
Does it hurt?
- No, I don't feel anything.
Ça sent les roses ici.
It smells like roses in here.
Tu sens la friture, c'est dégoûtant !
You smell of fried food, it's disgusting!
Est-ce que vous sentez ce parfum?
Do you smell that perfume?
Attention ! Ça ne sent pas la rose là-dedans !
Careful! It smells nasty in here!
Tu sens la friture dans cette rue?
Do you smell the fried food on that street ?
Q&A Forum 6 questions, 10 answers
LizKwiziq Q&A regular contributor
I would have written Elle goûté la vanille for she tasted vanilla since it didn’t indicate she sensed the taste of vanilla, which is different.
Asked 6 months ago
Liz asked:View original
I would have written Elle goûté la vanille for she tasted vanilla since it didn’t indicate she sensed the taste of vanilla, which is different.
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DebraKwiziq community member
Il sent la pain was the correct answer in the test, is pain feminine? Shouldn’t it be il sent le pain?
Asked 1 year ago
Debra asked:View original
Il sent la pain was the correct answer in the test, is pain feminine? Shouldn’t it be il sent le pain?
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StevenKwiziq Q&A regular contributor
I feel bad
To say I feel bad, would you write "Je me sens mal" or "Je sens mal"?
Asked 1 year ago
Hi Steven ,
Je me sens mal or je ne me sens pas bien is I feel bad in French.
Je sens mauvais would be I smell bad!
Hope this helps!
Well, 'je sens mal' would suggest that there's something wrong with your sense of smell....
StevenKwiziq Q&A regular contributor
Hi Cécile,
So "Je sens mal" would mean nothing as it is gramatically incorrect then, is that right?
Steven asked:View original
I feel bad
To say I feel bad, would you write "Je me sens mal" or "Je sens mal"?
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Kwiziq community member
là-dedans
Bonjour!
in the example “ça ne sent pas la rose là-dedans” is translated as “it smells nasty in here”. Formerly I had understood “là-dedans” to mean in there. Is it both or am I just wrong. Sorry, I know this is getting off on a bit of a bunny trail...
merci d’avance!
Asked 1 year ago
Hi D,
Although technically 'là-dedans' would be 'in there', if you walked into someone's bedroom and it smelled bad you would use the same expression meaning 'in here'.
It seems a bit more flexible in French...
Hope this helps!
Kwiziq community member
Yes perfect! Thanks much for the clarification!
DeAnna asked:View original
là-dedans
Bonjour!
in the example “ça ne sent pas la rose là-dedans” is translated as “it smells nasty in here”. Formerly I had understood “là-dedans” to mean in there. Is it both or am I just wrong. Sorry, I know this is getting off on a bit of a bunny trail...
merci d’avance!
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TerriKwiziq Q&A regular contributor
Under the 'Special Cases' section, ne pas sentir or ne sentir pas?
Under the 'Special Cases' section, one of the fixed expressions says '-ne pas sentir la rose...', but the examples have the ne ... pas surrounding sentir. Is there a time when it would be 'ne pas sentir ...', or is the expression written that way to show that it is literally 'to not smell'? Thank you for the clarification. Terri
Asked 2 years ago
Ron Kwiziq Q&A super contributor
Bonjour Terri,
The ne pas + the infinitive is mostly seen as a literary structure. Here's an example with explanation:
To negate an infinitive, you put the ne pas directly in front.
To negate anything else, you put the ne...pas around the conjugated verb, either the auxiliary in compound verb tenses or moods like the passé composé, i.e. je n'ai pas mange and surrounding the verb in simple tenses like «Je ne mange pas»
Vous devriez ne pas la connaître = You are negating the infinitive connaître --> to not know
Vous ne devriez pas la connaître = You are negating the conjugated verb devriez --> should not
So the first sentence says that it must be the case that you don't know her, while the second sentence says that it must not be the case that you do know her.
J'espère que cela vous aiderait.
Bonne chance,
Terri asked:View original
Under the 'Special Cases' section, ne pas sentir or ne sentir pas?
Under the 'Special Cases' section, one of the fixed expressions says '-ne pas sentir la rose...', but the examples have the ne ... pas surrounding sentir. Is there a time when it would be 'ne pas sentir ...', or is the expression written that way to show that it is literally 'to not smell'? Thank you for the clarification. Terri
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StuartKwiziq Q&A regular contributor
Posted by Aurélie DrouardIn: Level A1, Idioms, Idiomatic Usage, and Structures, Idiotisme
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