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 ...
- 128k
30
votes
Accepted
"Il est avocat" vs "C'est un avocat" ?
There can be a slight difference between the two sentences.
For example, answering a question about his profession, you would use il est:
— Quelle est sa profession ?
— Il est avocat.
But ...
- 713
28
votes
Accepted
What's the difference between “notre” and “nos”?
Notre and votre, like mon/ma, ton/ta, son/sa and leur are singular forms of the possessive adjectives:
Notre maison, votre liberté.
Nos and vos are plural, like mes, tes, ses, leurs.
Nos pieds, ...
- 30.2k
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 ...
- 56.4k
26
votes
Accepted
"Nous on sera les bons"
This is a classic case of French redundancy, and it is very common in informal speech. It serves to emphasize the importance of who is doing what.
What's confusing you is probably the lack of a ...
- 2,254
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
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 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 ...
- 326
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 ...
- 16.7k
18
votes
Accepted
La différence entre "Je peux t'en prêter 5$" et "Je peux te prêter 5$"
"Je peux t'en prêter 5$" n'est pas correct, mais "je peux t'en prêter 5" l'est, et implique que l'unité a été évoquée avant. Par exemple : "Peux-tu me prêter 10$ ? — Non, mais je peux t'en prêter 5."
...
- 570
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 ...
- 128k
17
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, ...
- 2,707
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 ...
- 128k
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 ...
- 128k
14
votes
Why is not "Je t'aime", "Je aime te"?
The simple answer is "because it is the rule".
The rule says that object pronouns are always placed before the verb except in imperative affirmative sentences.
J'aime la France. → Je l'aime.
J'...
- 56.4k
14
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 ...
- 56.4k
13
votes
Accepted
« Tu en as eues » : accord du participe passé avec « en »
Est-ce que tu en as eu ? Est-ce que tu en as eues ?
En as-tu eu ? En as-tu eues ?
Ta question soulève le problème de l'accord du participe passé avec en.
Certaines grammaires disent que le ...
- 56.4k
13
votes
Accepted
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 ...
- 128k
12
votes
Accepted
Qu'est-ce que « moi y en a comprendre » veut dire ?
C’est du petit nègre. Cette formule est utilisée pour signifier que le locuteur ne maîtrise pas le français, en général parce que ce n’est pas sa langue maternelle mais plutôt la langue du ...
- 7,535
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 ...
- 56.4k
12
votes
Accepted
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 ...
- 56.4k
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 ...
- 9,101
11
votes
Translation of "help each other"
French has a dedicated verb for that : s'entraider.
Les élèves s'entraident toujours pour faire leurs devoirs.
- 474
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
Accepted
“C'est” in passé composé
In proper speech the use of “ça” is to be avoided (in any case it isn't used in present tense with the verb être). In passé composé, formal register, “ce” and “a été” are the parts to be joined ...
- 30.2k
10
votes
Accepted
Equivalent français de « the former … the latter »
Le premier, le second. À accorder en genre et en nombre avec l'objet auquel ils se rapportent.
… les pouvoirs publics, les corps intermédiaires, les groupes de pression d'un côté, et l'opinion ...
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible