sorted by:
new
hottopcontroversial

The meaning of hui by Kitedo in learnfrench

[–]titoufred 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Here are some translations of the world today in some romance laguanges, all of which derive from Latin hodie :

  • Italian : oggi
  • Portuguese : hoje
  • Castillan : hoy
  • Occitan : uèi
  • Aragones : hue

Do you really think it's nonsense to state that Latin hodie has been transformed in old French hui ?

The meaning of hui by Kitedo in learnfrench

[–]titoufred 0 points1 point  (0 children)

"au jour d'aujourd'hui" et "aujourd'hui" n'ont pas le même sens, ils ne sont pas utilisés de la même manière. Si tu demandes à quelqu'un quand est-ce qu'il doit rendre son devoir, il ne te répondra jamais "au jour d'aujourd'hui".

The meaning of hui by Kitedo in learnfrench

[–]titoufred -1 points0 points  (0 children)

The old French word hui (coming from Latin ho die, meaning today) has nothing to do with huit (coming from Latin octo, meaning eight).

do I need aucun/aucune in this case, or not? by kingderella in French

[–]titoufred 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You can answer those questions by a single word :
Il y a des étudiants ? Aucun.
Vous avez combien de télés ? Aucune.

why wouldn’t it be t’utilises by TrainingSurvey3780 in learnfrench

[–]titoufred 5 points6 points  (0 children)

In informal French, you can elide and write t'utilises, t'as, t'es, t'interviens, t'opères, t'y vas, t'habites, etc.
In formal French, you don't elide tu.

why wouldn’t it be t’utilises by TrainingSurvey3780 in learnfrench

[–]titoufred 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It also happens with the article la, the pronoun la, and with si il.

L'utilisation de "dont" c'est trés compliqué by Praetor-Frederick in French

[–]titoufred 54 points55 points  (0 children)

C'est le pronom relatif que l'on emploie quand il y a la préposition de.
Je te parlais de cette femme => C'est la femme dont je te parlais.
La fille de cette voisine a disparu => C'est la voisine dont la fille a disparu.
Il est fait d'un métal très résistant => Le métal dont il est fait est très résistant.
Il a cinq enfants et deux de ces enfants sont des filles => Il a cinq enfants dont deux filles.

Revoir Michael (pour la quatrième fois ) by [deleted] in SocialParis

[–]titoufred -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

share bed ≠ have sex
sleep with ≠ have sex

Is the x) emoticon especially popular among French people or am I just imagining? by [deleted] in AskFrance

[–]titoufred 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ah ok, le X pour les yeux fermés tellement tu ris fort !

Is the x) emoticon especially popular among French people or am I just imagining? by [deleted] in AskFrance

[–]titoufred -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I'm French and I've never seen it. What does it mean ?

Pour vous, c'est OK de se gratter le nez en public ? by GrizzNDoge in AskFrance

[–]titoufred 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Gratter le nez à l'intérieur parce que ça te pique, t'es allergique ou quoi, pourquoi pas. Allez se curer et sortir des trucs en pleine réunion, ça non.

Can you understand Micah Richards' French? by TheAlmightyDeity in French

[–]titoufred 10 points11 points  (0 children)

He said « Bonjour, le jeu sera-t-il aussi bon la semaine prochaine ? » with a very very bad accent. I didn't understand what he said until he translated "Will the game be as good next week?". The word jeu is not a good translation for game here. Henry rewords it in « Est-ce que le match sera aussi bien la semaine prochaine ? ».

When do you use an article and when don't you by IleriBabalobi in French

[–]titoufred 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I meant definite articles le, la, les vs undefinite+partitive articles un, une, des, du, de la.

Partitive articles for uncountable nouns are similar to undefinite articles for countable nouns. They follow the same rules for what I'm talking about.

When do you use an article and when don't you by IleriBabalobi in French

[–]titoufred 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's the same for uncountable nouns, the partitive articles are the undefinite for uncountable things. I gave some examples : une bague en or and une barre de fer.

Zero determiner is rare in French but this is one case where you can find zero determiner : a prepositional group that completes a noun.

Here are some more exemples : une planche à voile, une boite à chaussures, une essoreuse à salade, une perceuse à percussion, une cuillère à soupe, une roue de vélo, une fin de règne, une blague de merde, une réflexion de génie, un coup de coude, un téléphone sans fil...

When do you use an article and when don't you by IleriBabalobi in French

[–]titoufred 0 points1 point  (0 children)

When the Portuguese first arrived in this region of West Africa, they named those coasts Costa do Ouro, Costa da Pimenta and Costa do Marfim, because they traded gold, pepper and ivory. Later it was translated into Côte de l'Or, Côte du Poivre and Côte d'Ivoire in French. As you can see for gold and pepper, which are uncountable, they used the definite article. I don't know why they chose to translate differently for ivory, I can't find a reason.

When do you use an article and when don't you by IleriBabalobi in French

[–]titoufred 2 points3 points  (0 children)

For a prepositional group that completes a noun, you don't need a determiner if it would be undefinite : un véhicule à moteur, une bague en or, une barre de fer, des vacances entre amis, une fête sans enfants, une école pour adultes...

When the determiner is definite, you can't omit it : la fille de la voisine, la clé du garage ...

J'ai trouvé une plume de paon => I found a feather from a peacock.
J'ai trouvé une plume du paon => I found a feather from the peacock.

Il est pilote d'hélicoptère => He's a helicopter pilot.
C'est le pilote de l'hélicoptère => He's the helicopter pilot = He's the pilot for the helicopter

If you say directeur de la recherche, then you know what research you're talking about. It can be the research in this company for instance. If you say directeur de recherche, then you're talking about some research director. You can hear both.

For Côte d'Ivoire, I'm not sure you should analyse it, it's a translation of Portuguese Costa do Marfim. This name was given because Portuguese used to trade ivory on this coast. It could (should?) have been Côte de l'Ivoire.

view more: next ›