French language Q&A Forum

What is the function of "ne" in the phrase "avant qu'elle ne rentre?"  It translates, "before she gets home."

Can we use "d'habitude" at the beginning of a sentence?

"D'habitude, je ne prends pas le train."

Merci

This is a perfect example of vocabulary/explanation that should be given ahead of time -- I'll bet that way more than 90% got this wrong! If you do not speak French fluently, you would never think of expressing "To think that by now" is expressed as "Dire qu'à l'heure qu'il est"! Help us be better students by explaining expressions such as this!

One question I did not see addressed in the other submissions below is the difference between “aller à la piscine” and “aller dans le petit bassin”. I assume it is because, in the latter case, she is literally entering into the water of the pool, not just going to the oplace where the pool is located?

Thank you!

Quand est-ce qu'on utilise 'bain' ou 'bassin', au lieu de 'piscine'? Il semble que 'piscine' n'est pas correct dans certains cas. Pourriez-vous m'expliquer ça, s'il vous plaît?

Merci.

Thank you, Cécile. I must have overlooked that in the alternative possibilities! Évidemment is one of my favorite words! Not sure why!

Regards,

Cornelia

When we use "nous", is the object always referred to in the singular, such as "notre horloge"?

Can we say that if même precedes the noun, it means "same" and if it comes after the noun, it means "very/itself"?