PLURAL OR SINGULAR with Ainsi que.There seems to be a bit of discrepancy in the lessons, the exercises, and a response to a question in the discussions.
a)First the response in the discussion... where Ainsi que starts the sentence, it seems to make the verb straight forward.
Ainsi que l'italien et l'espagnol, le Français dérive du latin. Very unambiguous that the 'the french' is the singular subject of the verb dériver.
b)The answers to the 'test recommended' provided me.
Les Etats-Unis, ainsi que l'Angleterre, sont un pays anglophone. Here the verb is 'plural BECAUSE the subject is The United States, but the associate nouns and adjectives are singular because it is ONE COUNTRY. Ok so far I think.
c) But in the discussion.
Le français ainsi que l'italien dérivent du latin ( French and Italian) hence a plural verb.
vs
"L'Angleterre, ainsi que la France, a combattu l'Allemagne en 1914." in the lesson.
Shouldn't the verb be 'ont combattu' . And if so maybe a short comment re the gender and plurality of the verb be added to the lesson.
Does anyone else find an over use of the exclamation marks ? I don’t take off marks if I don’t put in as many as given in the answers. Is this a particular French thing?
Unfortunately I make lots of mistakes in spelling and often do not answer a question. These can be caused by my clumsiness when using touch screen tablets. It does not necessarily mean that I didn't know the answers. Would it be possible for Kwiziq to introduce a filter which allows the learner to override these "mistakes". I make spelling mistakes using touch screen tablets I would never make when writing long hand. It seems that my keyboard skills are being tested not just my French.
Hello,
"Il faut que je prenne un rendez-vous à la banque"
In spoken french, is it more common to drop the indefinite article when making an appointment. i.e prendre rendez-vous rather than prendre un rendez-vous? What's most common in everyday spoken french?
Nick
Before anyone answers I think I can see it now. Is it the use of 'pouvoir' that makes the translation 'could' while 'avoir' gives more the sense of 'should'?
There seems to be a bit of discrepancy in the lessons, the exercises, and a response to a question in the discussions.
a)First the response in the discussion... where Ainsi que starts the sentence, it seems to make the verb straight forward.
Ainsi que l'italien et l'espagnol, le Français dérive du latin. Very unambiguous that the 'the french' is the singular subject of the verb dériver.
b)The answers to the 'test recommended' provided me.
Les Etats-Unis, ainsi que l'Angleterre, sont un pays anglophone. Here the verb is 'plural BECAUSE the subject is The United States, but the associate nouns and adjectives are singular because it is ONE COUNTRY. Ok so far I think.
c) But in the discussion.
Le français ainsi que l'italien dérivent du latin ( French and Italian) hence a plural verb.
vs
"L'Angleterre, ainsi que la France, a combattu l'Allemagne en 1914." in the lesson.
Shouldn't the verb be 'ont combattu' . And if so maybe a short comment re the gender and plurality of the verb be added to the lesson.
When referring to a single person of unknown gender, is it correct to use le/la leur, or is that a situation where theirs should be translated as le sien/la sienne?
E.g Would "Someone has forgotten their wallet. Don't take it! It's theirs." translate to "Quelqu'un a oublié leur portefeuille. Ne le prends pas! C'est le leur." ou "Quelqu'un a oublié son portefeuille. Ne le prends pas! C'est le sien."
i've always been thought that à qui refers to a person and à + lequel refers to things? Can you explain?
Find your French level for FREE
And get your personalised Study Plan to improve it
Find your French level