French language Q&A Forum

Expressing cause with "Pour (+être) allé" = For going/having gone in French

I am unsure why «pour avoir (past participle)» is sub-headed 'simple expression' and «pour être (past participle)» is sub-headed "complex expression". Is it because the latter lesson also includes reflexives, or am I missing some other complexity with «être»? The lessons and phrases seem otherwise essentially identical, using avoir or être as required by the verb in infinitif passé form.

In the sentence : Tu parles à ta soeur. Tu lui parles. - why do we use ‘tu LUI parles’? Should not we agree the pronom with ‘la sœur ‘ (féminin) and say ‘ Tu elle parles’? 

The translation for "C'est deux anciennes maison..." is "There are two old houses."

According to the lesson "ancien=former/old," when "ancien" comes before the noun, it means "former."

Is there a situation when "ancien" comes before the noun, and it means "old"?

Hi,

I have a question regarding "lequel"...

I still dont get when to use "que" and "lequel".....

There is one sentence i found from online news article and the use of "lequel" in it confuses me..

Le racisme, c'est l'idée selon laquelle l'espèce humaine serait composée de plusieurs races différentes.

It is literally the first sentence of the article and so nothing has been mentioned before that sentence. Regardless the "laquelle" has been used along with "selon", preposition. Also, when I translate it based on a dictionary, it means "according to which". It sounds so weird if i apply it onto the whole sentence. 

So, my questions are.......

1. is it necessary to use "selon laquelle or can I simply use "que" instead? (Like "c'est l'idée QUE l'espèce humaine serait....")

2. And just like "dans lequel" which can simply translate as "where(=où)", does "selon lequel" also mean something simple other than its dictionary meaning, "according to which"? 

I would appreciate for any reply!

Je ne comprende pas ce qu'il faut faire......

Quand commencer à fair ta etude?

Depuis has gotten confusing in this forum likely due to one comment stating emphatically that Depuis is used for a duration that starts and ends in the past. The lesson says no such thing, yet the incorrect comments show no clarification, and we are left to wonder. If Depuis cannot be used for a duration that starts and ends in the past, then something should be mentioned in the lesson, or, better, corrections should be added in response to the incorrect forum comments. Otherwise, it is confusing. Thank you much.

Can one say, "Daniel habite à l'extérieur de la ville" to say "Daniel lives outside of the city", or is it wrong or odd? Also, when I was in school, we were told to use "au-dehors de" but you do not include it in the prepositions lesson. Do people use this preposition? It is in the Collins dictionary.