“Passer un an” vs “Passer une année” (again)I am aware that this has been discussed before but it is clear to me that in certain cases “passer une année” can be used.
For example, on the web page https://acupoffrench.com/french-grammar/an-vs-annee-2/, which also explains when to use “an” or “année”, there is the following example with passer and année used to stress the duration:
“Elle a passé quatre années à chercher un travail.”
So I think it would not hurt to explicitly mention this possibility to use année instead of an to stress the duration.
For the general case (not just related to passer), I think the rule from “Advanced French Grammar”/Monique L’Huillier section 5.2.1 an/année is clearer than the “time unit” vs “duration” distinction: “an usually follows cardinal numbers, whilst année follows ordinal numbers, or an indefinite or demonstrative adjective”.
This rule does not hold for jour/journée, soir/soirée and matin/matinée and these cases are treated separately in the book.
This rule is then followed up in the book with “If the year is modified in any way, “année” should be used” with the following examples.
“J’ai vécu à Londres pendant cinq ans.”
”J’ai gardé un très bon souvenir de mes cinq années à Londres.”
so I was doing a quiz on Kwiziq and the question was "C'est amusant." means: to which I answered "it is funny". It gave me an 'almost there' mark and I don't get why. It says the right one is 'This is funny'.
I would think that this would follow the rule of feminine place names getting en, but I keep hearing people say « dans la Nouvelle-Écosse » instead of « en Nouvelle-Écosse » like I would expect
I am aware that this has been discussed before but it is clear to me that in certain cases “passer une année” can be used.
For example, on the web page https://acupoffrench.com/french-grammar/an-vs-annee-2/, which also explains when to use “an” or “année”, there is the following example with passer and année used to stress the duration:
“Elle a passé quatre années à chercher un travail.”
So I think it would not hurt to explicitly mention this possibility to use année instead of an to stress the duration.
For the general case (not just related to passer), I think the rule from “Advanced French Grammar”/Monique L’Huillier section 5.2.1 an/année is clearer than the “time unit” vs “duration” distinction: “an usually follows cardinal numbers, whilst année follows ordinal numbers, or an indefinite or demonstrative adjective”.
This rule does not hold for jour/journée, soir/soirée and matin/matinée and these cases are treated separately in the book.
This rule is then followed up in the book with “If the year is modified in any way, “année” should be used” with the following examples.
“J’ai vécu à Londres pendant cinq ans.”
”J’ai gardé un très bon souvenir de mes cinq années à Londres.”
Is it alright to use "Pourrais-je vous offrir une boisson chaude gratuite en attendant ?" What would be the difference in using pourrais and puis, if any? Thank you.
Is it correct to say "Il a encore besoin des oiseaux?
Also, is it correct to say "De quoi est-ce Catherine a besoin?
Why is "bien" used in this sentence to say "we did say 7"?
Ça capte mal chez nous - How does this mean "bad reception"? why can't we use "réception"?
When I wrote "à vélo" I received a correction that I should have written "en vélo." However, I was under the impression that both "en vélo" or "à vélo" are acceptable (see: À/en + [means of transportation] (French Prepositions)). Was this an error or is there a reason that "à vélo" is not acceptable here?
For this example:
Je ne comprends pas le temps que ça lui prend de se préparer !I don't understand the time she takes to get ready!
Isn't the subjunctive of prendre supposed to be prenne?
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