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 ...
- 146k
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
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 ...
- 60.3k
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 ...
- 2,274
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 ...
- 19.2k
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 ...
- 146k
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, ...
- 2,793
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 ...
- 146k
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 ...
- 146k
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 ...
- 60.3k
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 ...
- 2,787
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
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 ...
- 146k
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 ...
- 146k
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 ...
- 60.3k
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 ...
- 60.3k
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 ...
- 9,709
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 ...
- 8,684
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
When to use the pronoun en?
Pronouns are complicated, but there are some general rules (with exceptions) for third person pronouns:
de + noun phrase → de lui/d'elle/d'eux/d'elles for a person; en for a thing.
Il parle de ...
10
votes
Accepted
Why does "Je t'aime" have an elision whereas "Tu es bête" has no elision?
When using direct object pronouns that end with a vowel:
me
te ----> (NOT "tu")
le
la
there should always be an elision.
The reason "Tu es bête" is not written (at least ...
- 2,274
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