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When do you use 'ici' in place of 'là'?
In school French classes, you learn that 'ici' is here and 'là' is there. Then you start using the language and you realize that's not even close. From experience it seems that the here/there distinction only holds true when two locations are being…
TheEnvironmentalist
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5 answers
Ways to learn grammar innately?
English is my native language, and when I hear it or read it, I automatically recognize mistakes without having to consciously think about it at all. I couldn't always tell you the part of speech or which is the subordinate clause and so on, but I…
temporary_user_name
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A natural way to say "enjoy"
One English word whose translation I tend to hesitate on is "enjoy".
English-French dictionaries tend to give one of a few suggestions. Here's a roundup, along with my reasons for hesitating. Can you either identify the ones that work or, if my…
Luke Sawczak
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3 answers
Vulgar expression for “in big trouble”
How would you say something like
I'm in deep shit ( = in big trouble )
in French?
Can “être dans la merde” be used in this context?
VlS
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3 answers
Tennis terminology : how to use "coup droit / gauche"?
I've noticed that in French tennis commentary, they refer to a player's forehand as a 'coup droit' and their backhand as a 'coup gauche'. However, isn't this assuming that the player is right-handed? If they were left handed, these terms would be…
Jez
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Comme on connaît ses saints, on les honore
The translation of this appears to be:
To know a friend is to respect him
That's completely different from the meaning of the French words.
What's the logic behind the original French sentence? How do we arrive at the meaning English?
janos
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When to pronounce “s” at the end of words?
For instance, “vous” has a silent “s”, unless it's something like “Je vous ai vu.” (I'm not sure that I constructed that properly, but you get the point — the s is pronounced in that case.)
But what if you have "Je voudrais acheter un billet."? Is…
temporary_user_name
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votes
1 answer
Pourquoi emploie-t-on un article pour le nom d'un pays ?
There are already great questions and answers about when to use an article before a country name, and what it implies, including « Je viens d'Allemagne » ou « je viens de l'Allemagne » ?
But I wasn't able to find a question on the historical angle:…
Luke Sawczak
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Which is a correct french translation of "Coming together", "Keeping together" and "Working together"?
I'm trying to translate this quote:
Coming together is a beginning, keeping together is progress. Working together is success.
but I'm having trouble because I don't know if the literal translation really means the same thing as the expressions…
Alex
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Quelles sont les durées des mots utilisés dans les expressions ?
Voilà un bail que je me pose la question, sans savoir y répondre. Ça fait déjà une paye que je voulais la poser ici, mais je n'avais pas le temps. J'espère que je n'attendrai pas des lustres avant d'avoir la réponse.
Quelle est la durée d'un bail,…
SteeveDroz
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6 answers
How to translate “Up for it”?
To be “up for it” is to be ready to face a certain situation. How can I say it in French with the same emotion?
codious
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5 answers
Couldn't we use "du coup" in written French?
I ever heard from my French teacher that "du coup" is used only for spoken usage, but I'm not sure about it.
Annahri
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When to say "Bonne nuit" vs "Bonne soirée"
Living 2 years in the south of the France, I used to hear many French speakers saying Bonne soirée or Bonsoir to say goodbye in the evening.
But I've rarely heard any of them saying Bonne nuit even if it's very late (e.g. midnight)
I have a doubt of…
The-Vinh VO
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French equivalent for 'cheesy'
Is there a French word or term which means the same as calling someone cheesy?
(informal) too emotional or romantic, in a way that is embarrassing
a cheesy love song
a cheesy romance novel
Also, apologies if I'm off-topic completely.
Daft
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3 answers
Extra vowel before inverted "je"
Somehow I didn't notice the following phenomenon till recently.
Normal inversion:
Je dors.
Dors-je ?
New phenomenon for me:
Je parle des trois mousquetaires.
Parlé-je des trois mousquetaires ?
I have a few questions about this.
1) Is there a…
Luke Sawczak
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