Devoir (and its discontents)After I had had to do my homework, I went for a walk.Really? No native English speaker would ever say this. One might say "After I did my homework, I went for a walk" but that doesn't mean what I think the question writer is after.
Having had to do something is a state of being, not something after which one takes a walk. Consider a work around to what is said: "After being in a position where I was required to do my homework, I took a walk." Weird, awkward, unidiomatic, and just strange. If this question was written by a native English speaker, it was surely in pursuit of teaching the plupurfect of devoir, which I never hear in conversation. It is something taught but in my experience never used and really never needed. Apparently, whatever exists on the conjugation chart has to be worked into a question....
When I took French in 60s, the pluperfect of devoir was translated as "must have", but I only hear the passe compose in cases where the pluperfect might have worked. Again, I never hear this said and rarely written.
Anyway you look at it, devoir in the past is a condition - not something that happens before something else happens. So no more is needed than the passe compose IMO.....
do you only use rendre when talking about visiting a person?
How does personne work in a sentence written in past tense?
How would someone say “nobody believed me” for example? Is it “ne m’a cru personne” or should it be something different?
Dans cette phrase: ..."puis nous irons déjeuner dans un bistrot de votre choix", est-ce qu'on peut écriver aussi "puis nous déjeunerons dans..." ? Ce n'était pas claire qu'on doit utiliser le futur proche dans cette phrase.
1. Why can't we use " avec beaucoup des glacons" but we have to use " avec beaucoup de glacons ", why " les " disappears in this case ?
Does this rule is valid when the object pronouns are me,te,nous,vous
il nous ai parlé or il nous ai parlés
Whic one is true?
I wish your helps thank you so much
Would "D'ailleurs" also be acceptable in the sentence that starts, "De plus, je n'ai jamais été très patient..." ?
Really? No native English speaker would ever say this. One might say "After I did my homework, I went for a walk" but that doesn't mean what I think the question writer is after.
Having had to do something is a state of being, not something after which one takes a walk. Consider a work around to what is said: "After being in a position where I was required to do my homework, I took a walk." Weird, awkward, unidiomatic, and just strange. If this question was written by a native English speaker, it was surely in pursuit of teaching the plupurfect of devoir, which I never hear in conversation. It is something taught but in my experience never used and really never needed. Apparently, whatever exists on the conjugation chart has to be worked into a question....
When I took French in 60s, the pluperfect of devoir was translated as "must have", but I only hear the passe compose in cases where the pluperfect might have worked. Again, I never hear this said and rarely written.
Anyway you look at it, devoir in the past is a condition - not something that happens before something else happens. So no more is needed than the passe compose IMO.....
"qui nous permettent entre autres de dater précisément des pigments."
Could you please explain why 'nous permettent' is used in the above sentence and not 'nous permettons'
Thank you
Can we say Je serais attiré instead of je serais tenté ?
Find your French level for FREE
And get your personalised Study Plan to improve it
Find your French level