I’ve always thought that in a negation the preposition ‘de’ is used, so in « I don’t waste water » I wrote « je ne gaspille pas d’eau » but this was corrected to « je ne gaspille pas l’eau ». My thought pattern was supported in « when I can’t cycle » - « quand je ne peux pas faire de vélo » (given that : to cycle = faire du vélo). Can this be explained ?

Asked 3 years ago

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coca p.C1Kwiziq community member

pourquoi c'est pas 'j'avais plein de doutes' ?

avoir des doutes -- > avoir plein de doutes C'est pas comment ça?

Asked 3 years ago

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N. Hilary (Shamrockhill) W.C1Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

"Faire des cadeaux a..."

This is a new expression for me for "giving a gift to someone". I know the expression, "faire quelque chose a quelqu'un" can be used in other ways such as "faire un calin a".

Are there many other similar expressions and is there a lesson on this subject?

Thank you for your help, as always.

Asked 3 years ago

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D. A.C1Kwiziq community member

I must have done it or I had to do it

Both of the sentences above are translated as "J'ai du le faire".

BUT the two formulations in English have not-very-subtle differences in meaning.

"I had to..." implies "I was obligated to.." or "I was forced to..." - very definite!

"I must have..." implies "I may have forgotten to ..." -- quite indefinite!

How are these different flavors of meaning expressed en francais?

Asked 3 years ago

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Maria A.A2Kwiziq community member

why do you say " faire de la plongée" but "jouer au beach volley"

Asked 3 years ago

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B. T.C1Kwiziq community member

Marie aime aller

So helpful to practice like this.

The hardest part to understand for me was the first phrase "Marie aime aller"! It sounded like "Marie et Amelie". Now it's obvious that it does not sound like that at all :)

Asked 3 years ago

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Casey E.C1Kwiziq community member

Use of "en" and "y" as replacements

Hello,

Can you help me understand the use of "en" and "y" as replacement pronouns in the sentence "J'en profiterai pour y aller avec lui"? I understand the general rules as explained in the lessons, but in this case I don't understand why they are both being applied. Wouldn't you just use "y" here to replace "la banque" ? Why are both "en" and "y" used?

Thank you.

Asked 3 years ago

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