Jim, 

I think Eugenia is right that the 'le' in this clause is replacing a repetition of the adjective 'adaptées' from the prior clause, as in French the adjective needs to (should) be 'repeated' in this 2nd clause. (In English we can either leave it out, or include it especially for emphasis). The grammar references attached to the translation support this also - the lesson on the neuter object pronoun 'le' to replace adjectives is included.

Eugenia is also correct that it is not obligatory to use 'le' in this way, and the alternative expression she has written would also be correct.

However, just as in English, French tries to avoid repeatedly expressing things in the same way, so using the neutral pronoun 'le' here for the adjective would be quite normal and common.

Replacing adjectives with le (direct object pronoun)

Hi Eugenia,

"The cat's claws are well adapted for climbing up trees, but much less so for climbing back down"

So the "le" represents "doing it" that is climbing back down (as an action).

"They are less able (adaptable)to do IT when climbing down" (It = Direct object pronoun=le)

This as my understanding  --  hope it helps.

Jim

Hi Stupefaite,

The lady is in some distress because her cat is apparently stuck up the tree.

The vet suggests the possibility that the lady may have a ladder or some other long item to place against the tree to create a type of ramp.

So we have some emotion being expressed, doubt, and desire to resolve the matter.

As I see it, there are several reasons why the subjunctive mood would be appropriate although I cannot show proof of "quelque chose que ....." in that particular construction.

Hope that this may help.

Jim

The relevant lesson from Laura Lawless

https://www.lawlessfrench.com/grammar/subjunctive-with-negative-and-indefinite-pronouns/

Playing, pausing and recommencing are working fine for me. It does seem to jump back a little on pausing sometimes, possibly to start from a full word, but no major dislocation. It does not seem to have a rewind function, or capacity to 'drag' the recorder back. I only get 2 voices if I hit both part 1 and part 2 to play at the same time. You might need to seek technical help through support to determine if the issue is local or remote. In terms of using these recordings there are several ways people do this - some try to read aloud at the same time or just slightly behind the recording, others will listen for a period, stop and then try to mimic the reader. Some will listen all the way through once or twice to try to understand as much as possible without reading initially. There are many other variations too, including writing the script out from 'ear' as well. I prefer to listen without reading the script, usually twice, then I will usually read and try to pronounce as well as I can myself, then do listen pause and mimic. I would love to say I write the script by ear at times, but time just seems too short for me to do that.

thank you.

Que je vous ai appelés. -- That I called you.

You use the "s" at the end of the participle because of the vous referring to a group of people, hence plural. I think this concept is explained later on.

Here is the Kwiziq lesson on the subject -

https://french.kwiziq.com/revision/grammar/special-cases-when-the-past-participle-agrees-in-number-and-gender-when-used-with-avoir-in-le-passe-compose-conversational-past

The full answer is that a past participle that is preceded by the auxiliary “avoir” agrees in number and gender with the direct object if the direct object is placed before the verb (otherwise the participle is invariable). In this case, the past participle is “appelés”, the auxiliary is “ai” from the verb avoir, and the direct object is “vous” which is placed before the verb; therefore, the past participle agrees in number and gender with “vous” which is masculine (by default) and plural, and therefore requires an “s” at the end. It sounds more complicated than the previous answer but if one of these conditions did not apply, the past participle would not have necessarily taken an “s” at the end. For example, for the sentence “j’ai appelé les vétérinaires”, “appelé” does not take an “s” even though the auxiliary is from the verb “avoir” and the direct object is “les vétérinaires” which is plural, because the direct object in this case is placed after the verb. The rule is also different if the auxiliary is “être” instead of “avoir”. The rule is different again if the object is indirect rather than direct. Once you master all the rules then it is clear what the past participles’ endings should be, but until then it is not always obvious. Hope it helps (even if complicated)!

That looks like a typo  to me. If "ce" were "ne" it would make sense.

Thanks, Cécile, learned something new!

Aha!  Thanks, Cécile.