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1500 questions
107
votes
8 answers
Pourquoi place-t-on une espace avant les ponctuations fortes ? — Why is there a space before certain punctuation marks?
Par exemple, le point d'exclamation !, le point d'interrogation ? et le point-virgule ; sont précédés d'une espace, contrairement à l'usage anglais. Historiquement, y a-t-il eu une raison ou un contexte propice à l'apparition de cette règle ?
On…
Bryan Denny
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88
votes
12 answers
If "Je t'aime" means "I love you", how do you say "I like you" in French while still addressing the other person as "tu"?
There doesn't seem to be a way to indicate that one only likes a person with whom one is friends, rather than loves them. Is there a way to indicate this while still referring to the friend as 'tu'?
Jez
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84
votes
7 answers
Pourquoi trente-six ?
Le nombre 36 apparaît dans plusieurs expressions :
Voir trente-six chandelles. (Être sonné, KO.)
Tous les trente-six du mois. (Jamais)
Il n'y a pas trente-six solutions. (Il y a une, éventuellement deux, solutions.)
Faire trente-six choses à la…
Stéphane Gimenez
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73
votes
8 answers
Accentuation des majuscules — Accents on upper-case letters
En français, faut-il accentuer les lettres majuscules ?
Par exemple, doit-on écrire :
Écriture
ou
Ecriture
On voit les deux situations très souvent, laquelle doit être utilisée ?
Ought accents to be written on top of upper-case letters in…
grunk
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73
votes
5 answers
When does one pronounce the 's' in plus?
When a friend of mine asked why so many contractors worked in Dubai, I replied by saying (approximately):
À Dubai, on a plus d'argent.
Meaning to say that one can earn more money in Dubai. I pronounced the "plus" in this phrase: /ply/ (rhymes…
alpian
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60
votes
12 answers
How to translate “By the way”? — Comment traduire « By the way » ?
I want to translate a sentence that says something like “By the way, did you remember to get…?”
So far I've seen two options: au fait and à propos. Which one would be more appropriate for an informal talk?
J'aimerais traduire une phrase du type «…
jasalguero
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59
votes
14 answers
What languages are perceived as classy or fancy to French speakers?
In English, this might be demonstrated by using the word boutique rather than shop, or by saying au contraire rather than on the contrary, because to English speakers French is commonly perceived as high-class or fancy (at least in American/British…
Catomic
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50
votes
6 answers
Quand peut-on mettre un adjectif avant ou après un nom ? — When do adjectives go before or after a noun?
Quelles sont les règles quant au placement des adjectifs avant ou après les noms ?
Exemples :
Un bel animal (avec en prime le changement beau → bel… règle ?)
Une belle maison
Une verte prairie — une prairie verte (différence ?)
Une maison bleue
Ma…
Joubarc
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50
votes
5 answers
Where did French's silent ending consonants come from?
The abundance of silent ending consonants in French totally separates its pronunciation from the other Romance languages-- neither Spanish, nor Portuguese, nor Italian, nor Latin have that feature (I'm not sure if they ever did in the past.)
Do…
porque_no_les_deux
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47
votes
2 answers
Why are O and E sometimes attached together, as in “les œufs”?
I asked my French teacher last time, and she said she didn't know, but she will ask. Can anyone give clear and simple reason for this?
samayo
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46
votes
4 answers
Differences between “Oui” and “Si” in the affirmative?
The usual form of yes in French is "oui."
But my understanding is that there is another form of the affirmative, "si," (similar to the Spanish). It is used only in limited contexts, and is perhaps a different, "weaker" way of saying "yes."
In…
Tom Au
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46
votes
17 answers
Comment traduire « what the fuck » ?
Je ne demande pas ici un éclaicissement du sens de la locution. Je la rencontre, comme tout lecteur d'articles anglophones sur le web, assez souvent, exprimant une interrogation mélée selon le contexte d'un mélange de colère, de surprise, voire de…
Romain Valeri
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46
votes
8 answers
Ways of saying “you're welcome” in French
After someone says “merci beaucoup”, I would like to respond by saying something equivalent to the English phrase “no problem”. I tried google translate, and it gave me “Pas de problème”, but I'm not so sure this is correct. Is it correct? Are…
Paul
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45
votes
7 answers
Why does French use a "split negative"?
I'm referring to such constructions as ne [verb] pas, ne [verb] que, ne [verb] jamais, etc.
In Spanish, the negative precedes the verb:
No lo quiero.
In Anglo-Saxon languages, the negative follows the (helping) verb:
I do not like that.
Doch das…
Tom Au
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45
votes
15 answers
What movies or TV series can I use to improve my French?
Watching movies or TV series are very helpful in learning a language. What such movies or series (french ones, of course) is recommended for a new learner?
This is what I experienced in learning English, and it came out pretty good, so I want to do…
Iravanchi
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