Is this lesson incomplete? I've been struggling with this lesson for a while now and keep getting the answers wrong in tests. I think I have it now but the additional research I've had to do suggests there are issues with this lesson.
(1) The heading is a bit misleading, causing me to think for a long time that "if" made the phrase conditional, whereas of course it's "would" that does that. This caused me to think the phrase order was "Si [le conditionnel] (then) [L'imparfait]", whereas it's the opposite for most of the examples. The true order, I realise know, is "Si [l'imparfait] (then) [le conditionnel]", or "[le conditionnel], si [l'imparfait]".
(2) More importantly, the lesson does not mention that the tense of the "if" phrase can vary depending on the likelihood of the "result" phrase. This lesson is focused only on the unlikely outcome and does not discuss or even mention the likely or impossible outcomes as far as I can see. Is there a reason for this?
One of the prompts says translate "Will come and visit us?". I think it should be corrected to "Will you come and visit us?"
Why is the future perfect used in this sentence: "Mais personne mieux que Claude Nougaro n'aura incarné..."?
Would present tense not work here?
This may be a little arcane, but what is the general naming convention in French when using proper names from other languages that use the Latin/Roman alphabet, especially for famous persons? For example, in this exercise Leonardo Da Vinci is rendered in the French Léonard de Vinci. The Italian spelling seems to be widely used & in the States at least there has been a move towards using the native spelling of names in academic works & history books.
In English calling him Leonard from Vinci would sound really weird.
Why not française to make the accord with feminin région ?
In the lesson you state:
Ni l'un(e) ni l'autre ne... means neither one nor the other or neither (of them).English is my native language and I would never say "neither one nor the other". I would say "Neither the one nor the other" or better, as offered "Neither." "Neither one nor the other" just doesn't sound right. "Neither one" seems sufficient (and a third alternative) making the addition of "nor the other" seem superfluous and inappropriate. I wonder if this isn't a dialectical difference within North America.
Bonjour, should "Tous les parents la redoute" read "Tous les parents la redoutent" ? Merci, Matthew.
I've been struggling with this lesson for a while now and keep getting the answers wrong in tests. I think I have it now but the additional research I've had to do suggests there are issues with this lesson.
(1) The heading is a bit misleading, causing me to think for a long time that "if" made the phrase conditional, whereas of course it's "would" that does that. This caused me to think the phrase order was "Si [le conditionnel] (then) [L'imparfait]", whereas it's the opposite for most of the examples. The true order, I realise know, is "Si [l'imparfait] (then) [le conditionnel]", or "[le conditionnel], si [l'imparfait]".
(2) More importantly, the lesson does not mention that the tense of the "if" phrase can vary depending on the likelihood of the "result" phrase. This lesson is focused only on the unlikely outcome and does not discuss or even mention the likely or impossible outcomes as far as I can see. Is there a reason for this?
The question, "We come from Texas=Nous venons du Texas. How do I know which counties or regions or states are masculine. For example: We come from 'Alabama'. Is this masculine or feminine?
Merci!
John
I learned French in the sixties and seventies and use it daily. Is it still OK to say
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