French language Q&A Forum

Here is an explanation of how to know when to use ‘avoir besoin de’ or ‘avoir envie de’ or ‘devoir’. I figured out, after several hours and then using the link below, that to use ‘avoir envie de’ to mean ‘to have need of’ you must use it in this construction (from the lesson below):

To express to ... need [to do something], you will use avoir envie de / d' + infinitive of the verb.

Without the infinitive of a verb, avoir envie de cannot mean the same as ‘to need’. It will simply mean the same as ‘I want’. Note that ‘devoir + infinitive also means ‘to need’.

So, when trying to work out which one is correct to mean ‘to you have need of’ in the four answer options, if ‘devoir’ and/or ‘avoir envie de’ have an infinitive following them, they can also be marked as correct as ‘avoir besoin de’.

https://french.kwiziq.com/my-languages/french/tests/results/5955063/system?quick-lesson-popup=7

How about moi? Can you say Tu me parles?

Nous nous sommes brossé les cheveux. 

This was the answer. Why doesn't "brossé" end in "s"?

In this exercise, can we substitute the preposition  “à” for “dans” in any or all of these sentences:

1. Nous irions ensemble dans des galeries d’art (ou à des galeries d’art) ?

2. Nous pourrions manger dans un bon bistrot (ou à un bon bistrot) ?

3. Je l’emmènerais dans un charmant petit parc (ou à un charmant petit parc) ?

I put “à” for (1) and (3) and wondered if it was acceptable alternative, similar to saying “on va au cinéma” ou “à la boulangerie”.

The above is quoted from the lesson.  I wonder if the "past participle" now serves as an adjective and that is the reason for the agreement, not the use of the verb être per se.  If that is the case it seems to me to be a much easier way to understand the construction of the passive voice.  

The explanation seems to focus on the verb être with the use of bold for être rather than the subject agreement, so it's easy to get confused.  (I tried to use "bold" here but it didn't work, so pls. see statement as it appears in the lesson.)

Going back to an earlier lesson which had this sentence in a quiz question:

Je vais être dévoré par les morts vivants

I went round and round trying to figure out what part of speech dévoré was.  I finally decided it was being used as an adjective (but I admit I am not !00% sure).   Hence my question above.

see that question below (not from me)

Conjugate verbs in the near future in French using aller + infinitive (Le Futur Proche)

See below.   The use of être plus the past participle should be discussed/explained...just say'n :))Non ! Je ________ dévoré par les morts vivants !No! I'm going to be devoured by the living dead!HINT: Conjugate être (to be) in Le Futur Proche

Je suis Nic et je viens de Calgary!

Not really a French question, but how do you type a dash to get a "your answer matched mine" in the writing exercises? Even if I write exactly the same as the model answer, if the phrase begins with a dash the computer doesn't credit me with getting it right. Is it something to do with the number of spaces before or after? Or is there a type of dash I'm not using? 

Frustrating as I challenge myself to get 3 or 4 "matches" per exercise, but this means half of my attempts have no chance....

I think this lesson, and any question relating to it, should be removed until a clear lesson is written. 

Can 'suddenly' be translated as 'soudainement'? Reverso seems to think that there is such a word.

Thanks

il n'y a pas de meilleure saint Valentin