French language Q&A Forum

Do we lose points for omitted commas and other punctuation? When I had dictée exercises in France the instructor/narrator always included reading punctuation marks.

Were they under-cooked? Is this referring literally to nuts/walnuts as part of the meal - or is it a part of the scallop, or a reference to the scallop?

Can you also say 'tu as emporté ton doudou?' I thought if you are taking an object and it is staying with you, then you use emporter. 

The title holds the right answer. If I was speaking to a native French speaker and spoke this wrong answer - Si tu vas ou pas, ça ne change rien - would the French speaker understand but think to him/herself “tsk tsk such poor grammar”, or would my selection be incomprehensible? Actually, I have a similar question - two birds, one stone - regarding the use of ‘passé simple’ as opposed to ‘passé composé’: is there a simple rule which tells one which is the appropriate choice when?

The recommended translation of 'you are an animal lover and a camping enthusiast' is 'Vous êtes un amoureux des bêtes et un passionné de camping'. Is it possible to explain why 'bêtes' is preceded by a definite article and 'camping' isn't?

The tense chosen for pouvoir in this case is the conditional, which to me translates as "would you tell..."  and not as "could you tell..."  I get this wrong a lot and I am aware of the lesson but still err in regard to translating could.  Help!

Why does "important" and "magnifique" come before the nouns here? -

Usually the adjectives go after the noun.

1. Dominé par une magnifique abbaye construite en l’honneur de Saint-Michel.

2. C’est un important centre religieux.

Combien est-ce que ça coûte? VS Combien est-ce qu'il coûte? 

Are both correct for "How much does it cost?" Or is there any difference?