34
votes
Accepted
"Je suis petite, moi?", purpose of the "moi"?
This sentence is usually a reply to a remark, typically:
— Tu es petite !
— Je suis petite, moi ?
The remark is repeated to confirm what has been heard or understood, and moi ? is a way to state a ...
- 154k
27
votes
Accepted
How to say "I only speak one which is English" in French?
Regarding your proposal:
Langue is feminine, so you have to use une and not un.
If you do not repeat langue in the answer you have to replace it with the personal pronoun en.
Je n'en parle qu'une ...
- 63.5k
26
votes
“Il est”: what does it mean?
The crux of your question is in the sentence:
From what I understood, Il est means He is. But, Why does it mean It is?
The fact is that in French there is no “it”. The only French grammatical ...
- 361
24
votes
Why does everyone in The Lord of the Rings use "vous" ?
(French native here)
You probably have been taught, as a simplifed rule, that 'vous' should be used for plural or to emphasize politeness, and 'tu' for singular/close relationship.
As already answered ...
- 241
20
votes
Accepted
Why is there an "y" in this sentence?
The other answers have already noted that the y there is originally about a location. I'd like to point out the difference with and without that y.
The sentence je n'y vois rien means that something ...
- 336
20
votes
"Agree to all" in French
You can say either :
Tout accepter
Or
Accepter toutes les conditions
But you can't say accepter toutes without anything behind. (Or at least never seen it)
- 766
19
votes
Accepted
Why is the "la chose" replaced by "le" instead of "la" in the following sentence?
The antecedent of le here is not la chose, but the clause « que vous faites cette chose ». This is given le, masculine singular, only because that functions as the default inflection when gender and ...
- 19.7k
18
votes
Accepted
Why is “tous les mains” used here instead of “toutes les mains”?
"Tous les mains" is indeed invalid as a unit (since "mains" is feminine), but it is nonetheless a valid sequence of words in this sentence because it is not being used as a unit. "Tous" is an pronoun, ...
- 2,903
18
votes
In the sentence "Tu l'as acheté où ce pantalon ?". what does the "l" apart of the "l'as" do?
Technically, the sentence is missing a comma:
Tu l'as acheté où, ce pantalon ?
To parse it, better to first ignore the trailing part that is optional. That reads:
Tu l'as acheté où ? or the ...
- 154k
17
votes
Accepted
"Je vais te me les disperser" ?
As far as most French grammar books are concerned, this form of double ethical dative doesn't exist.
However, the reality is that it is definitely understood by native French and still used in ...
- 154k
15
votes
Accepted
15
votes
Accepted
Where should a pronoun go when the verb is followed by an infinitive clause?
From what you have written I expect you know the rule that says that when the direct object is a pronoun, it must be placed before the verb.
J'améliore la peinture → Je l'améliore.
I suppose you ...
- 63.5k
15
votes
Accepted
What is the connotation of using "lui" as the subject of a sentence?
Emphasis and opposition1.
You use a tonic third person pronoun to insist on the fact they do something but others don't.
Lui parle français. That one speak French (but not the other ones)
J'ai ...
- 154k
14
votes
Why does everyone in The Lord of the Rings use "vous" ?
One possible reason is that the film is translated from English, which does not make distinction between tu and vous. This is however not very likely (at least, if we are dealing with the official ...
- 3,049
13
votes
How do you say in French “if you don't mind my asking”?
The most formal way would be:
Si je puis me permettre, (question)
Note that you could also use the interrogative form:
Puis-je me permettre de vous demander (question)?
I think this is as ...
- 131
13
votes
Accepted
Can "y" be used not just for locations?
The pronoun y replaces a complement representing something inanimate introduced by à, or any kind of locative complement.
Like your example shows (je crois à ça : j'y crois), it is not limited to ...
- 154k
13
votes
Plural and feminine inflections of "ceci"
Ceci is invariable and singular.
Unlike ce, it doesn't accommodate the plural very well.
Ceci n'est pas un cigare. ✅
Ceci n'est pas une pipe. ✅
Ceci n'est pas des cigares. ❓
Ceci n'est pas des ...
- 154k
13
votes
Accepted
Is it right to use "leur" as a "gender-neutral" pronoun, like in English? (example from Duolingo)
This is indeed probably a mistranslation from English. Whoever was responsible for the translation seemingly did not pay attention to the fact that the first part of the English sentence contained a ...
- 1,296
12
votes
“Il est”: what does it mean?
The usual answer to the question : De quelle couleur est ton manteau ? is: Il (mon manteau) est beige.
Consider it would be the same in English:
What colour is your coat? → It 's beige.
What you ...
- 63.5k
12
votes
I will never do it - CE or LE?
Ce is a determiner, it is an adjective and as such you need a noun to go with it. What you really want in your sentence is a pronoun, le is correct.
Je le ferai jamais.
Note that it is colloquial ...
- 63.5k
12
votes
Is "ce" or "ces" (or both) correct in this context?
The subject pronoun ce and the demonstrative determiner ce/cette/ces aren't the same word, even if they share a form, and don't follow the same rules.
The subject pronoun is ultimately descended from ...
- 10k
12
votes
Is it possible to use direct object pronouns with the verbs "aimer" and "connaître" when they refer to things?
It is grammatically correct to use le, la, les ... for objects. Those pronouns are not restricted to persons, there are no separate pronouns for objects. For example:
Tu connais ce livre?
Oui, je le ...
- 9,845
11
votes
Je vais en goûter ou y goûter ?
Les deux phrases
Oui, je vais en goûter un peu"
et
Oui, je vais y goûter un peu
sont correctes.
Cependant, une meilleure tournure serait « Oui, j'aimerais y goûter », ou « Oui, j'en veux ...
- 111
10
votes
Translation of "help each other"
French has a dedicated verb for that : s'entraider.
Les élèves s'entraident toujours pour faire leurs devoirs.
- 454
10
votes
Accepted
What does 'il n'y en a plus' mean?
"There is":
Il y a
Negation ("there is not"):
Il n'y a pas
"There is not anymore":
Il n'y a plus
"There is no bread anymore":
Il n'y a plus de pain
You can replace "de pain" with the ...
10
votes
Translation of "him" and "her" in French
The 3rd person singular direct object pronoun is differentiated: le vs. la.
But the 3rd-person singular indirect object pronoun is not: lui.
Many pronouns lack differentiation in French. Here's an ...
- 19.7k
10
votes
Accepted
Le pronom « je » avec le verbe conjugué à la première personne du pluriel : valeur, raison de l'emploi ?
La première question revient malheureusement à prouver un négatif. C'est d'autant plus compliqué que les attestations de je -ons avec un référent singulier sont rares, peuvent être le résultat d'une ...
- 10k
10
votes
Accepted
Avoiding "il est un" and "elle est une"
Nowadays, using il est un / elle est une is typical from non native French speakers.
This form is not a grammatical mistake. It sounds archaic but might still be used in formal or literary contexts ...
- 154k
10
votes
Accepted
What is the effect of the repeated (redundant?) "lui" in this passage?
The verb arriver here is impersonal, it only exists in the third person singular: ça arrive, and if an indirect object is required this indirect object goes before the verb : ça m'arrive, ça t'arrive, ...
- 63.5k
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