Can someone please explain to me what this expression means and how is it used. I see it a lot in French TED talks and I'm not sure of its meaning. For example at one point the presenter said:
Vous souvenez-vous comment moi j'ai fait pour apprendre le mot « passementerie ».
Mais même si... comment peuvent-ils faire pour apprendre leur sens ?
I think you can translate "faire" by "manage".
Vous souvenez-vous comment moi j'ai fait pour apprendre* le mot passementerie
Do you remember how did I manage to learn the word "passementerie" ?
It makes an emphasis on the manner you did it. It implies it is something not common, but you found a way to do it.
It is very common. You may often use it when someone solves a problem:
Comment t'as fait pour finir aussi vite ?? (familiar)
« Comment [j'ai/t'as/il a/...] fait » is not formal, it is used on common language (a little familiar maybe, but not that much)
Think about “Comment faire pour” this way: What are the actions it takes to obtain the desired result?
A sentence such as:
Comment j'ai fait pour apprendre le mot « passementerie » ?
is about the actions you took. If you ask instead:
Comment j'ai appris le mot « passementerie » ?
the question is much broader. Answering “from whom” or “where” you learned it would be sufficient.
You can substitute also "arriver à" for "faire pour": "....comment moi, je suis arrivé à apprendre le sens..." I came to learn the meaning... This construction may make it more obvious that a goal is being sought after and then achieved
"Vous souvenez-vous comment moi j'ai fait pour apprendre* le mot passementerie" translates: "Do you remember how I managed to learn the word passementerie"
"mais même si... comment peuvent-t-il faire pour apprendre leur sense ?" translates: "Even if... how can they manage to learn their meaning?"
So yeah, "How to manage to" could be a quite accurate translation for "Comment faire pour"
