French language Q&A Forum

C’était juste assez au-dessus de mes compétences pour être un bon défi, mais assez proche pour être amusant. Il ya eu des moments où mes tentatives étaient vraiment réussies ! Ca me donne confiance pour faire les conversations quotidiennes. Merci !

How can I find all the lessons related to a specific topic, such as adverbs or L'Imparfait, on your platform? Encompassing all levels from A1 to C1. Thanks!

"Je suis blonde avec des cheveux longs et bouclés"

Can someone put me on to a link as to why this uses des, and not les?

To me , des means "some", so literally : "I have some long and curly hair". 

I thought you needed to use le/la/les for body parts ?

Using le, la, les with body parts and clothing (definite articles)

Thanks, Paul.

How do I distinguish between a reflexive verb where the action is happening to the subject and not to each like in reciprocity as explained here.

I don't understand why arrivions was incorrect and soyons arrivés correct when:

The correct translation for "They need us to arrive before the ceremony begins" is "Ils ont besoin que nous arrivions avant le début de la cérémonie."

Explanation

Ils ont besoin que nous arrivions avant le début de la cérémonie

This phrase uses the subjunctive present (nous arrivions) of "arriver."

It expresses a requirement concerning a future action (our arriving) that must happen before a specific event (the ceremony starts).

This is the most natural and idiomatic way in French to say that someone needs you to arrive before a certain point in time.

Ils ont besoin que nous soyons arrivés avant le début de la cérémonie

This form uses the past subjunctive (nous soyons arrivés).

It emphasizes the state of having already arrived by the time the ceremony begins, which can sound overly formal, final, or focused on the end result.

In everyday French, this structure is less commonly used for planned requirements about the future.

Why?

French typically uses the present subjunctive ("nous arrivions") after verbs that express necessity or desire (like "avoir besoin que") unless you need to stress that the action will be completed before the reference point in the past or for a resultative state.

In the context of "They need us to arrive before the ceremony begins," the English meaning aligns exactly with the present subjunctive in French.

So, the most natural and correct answer is:

Ils ont besoin que nous arrivions avant le début de la cérémonie.

If your intent was, "They need us to have already arrived before the ceremony begins," you might use the past subjunctive, but that's not the usual reading of the English sentence.

I got marked wrong on skipping "Qu'est-ce que cela ?" as an option for "what is this"?

Isn't "cela" strictly for "that"?

Merci beaucoup:)

Is it possible to remove stars from notebooks if you are struggling with the concept?

Why is "animal de compagnie" not an option for the translation of pet ?

The dictation exercise A Nature-inspired Sculptor includes the sentence Depuis que je suis petite, j’ai toujours ressenti une grande connexion avec la nature" 

Is passé composé rather than the present tense used in "j’ai toujours ressenti" because of the "toujours"? 

[PS: there’s a small error in one of Céline’s answers below - "Ever since I was a little girl, in winter, we camp in the mountains"]