Clarification of example

Abi B.A1Kwiziq community member

Clarification of example

I don't understand how "Marie a manqué l'école" means "Marie didn't go to school". There isn't aller in the sentence so how does that work?

Asked 4 years ago
CécileNative French expert teacher in KwiziqCorrect answer

Hi Abi,

The expression,

Manquer l'école

is to skip school, so not to go to school is sort of the same thing...

Maarten K.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

This could be translated into English as "Marie missed school". This would then be ambiguous in English - did she physically miss it, or emotionally. In French it means only that she missed it physically, not emotionally. Translations are not always literal and direct - in this case, the French sentence is better explained by an English translation that she didn't go/get/make it to school. This is the complementary lesson:  Using manquer (à) to say you miss someone or something emotionally in French

Clarification of example

I don't understand how "Marie a manqué l'école" means "Marie didn't go to school". There isn't aller in the sentence so how does that work?

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