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Guillaume fait tout ce qu'il peut pour faire oublier son erreur

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Guillaume tente de se rattraper le coup (mais il s'enfonce).

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G tries/tried to do what he was supposed to do as opposed to G did something wrong and is now trying to make it up (more of an apology or apologetic gesture than a real solution).

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Your second sentence is incorrect. It should be either

Guillaume tente de rattraper le coup.

or

Guillaume tente de se rattraper.

See the definition for rattraper (1. and 7. for our context).

These sentences have a similar global meaning: Guillaume is doing his best to make up for his mistake. However, we could see a small sublety:

  • Faire oublier son erreur --> Try and make other people forget about your mistake by doing a lot of good things, whether or not these things are related to the mistake.
  • Se rattraper / Rattraper le coup --> Try and make actions related to the mistake in order to limit its effects / consequences.

For instance:

Guillaume a trompé sa femme : c'est impardonnable. À présent, il fait tout ce qu'il peut pour lui faire oublier son erreur : il l'aide à la maison, organise des voyages avec elle, s'est inscrit pour une thérapie de couple...

and

Guillaume a oublié d'acheter un cadeau à sa belle-mère pour son anniversaire. Heureusement, il a rattrapé le coup en apportant le dessert et un beau bouquet de fleurs !

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