Misleading phrasing in lesson

Andy _.A2Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

Misleading phrasing in lesson

The lesson states: "You will never use autres on its own," which in the context of the entire lesson appears to mean you would need des or d', since no other option is given for the plural, but you could in fact say, for instance, "ces autres journaux." Even if you want to make the argument that using ces fulfils the point quoted statement as to autres not being alone, it is still misleading at best.

Asked 1 month ago
CélineNative French expert teacher in KwiziqCorrect answer

Bonjour,

Thank you for your comment! You're correct that ces + autres + [noun] is possible. However, this lesson is specifically looking at  You will never use autres on its own, i.e. without an article, to express X other [things] or some other [things]. After discussing your query with my other colleagues, we agree with you that things could be made clearer so we've reworded and added a few more details in the lesson.

We hope this is helpful.

Bonne journée !

Chris W.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

The lesson focuses on d'autres vs. des autres, but other options exist as well:

J'ai donné les livres aux autres. -- I gave the books to the others.
J'ai des autres livres. -- I have (some/the) other books.
J'ai d'autre livres. -- I have other books.
J'ai ces autres livres. -- I have these other books.

As you see, there's always an article or preposition preceding autres.

Andy _.A2Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

Chris--Yes, that is what my last sentence acknowledges; the point was the lesson implies that it needs either des or d', period.

Andy _.A2Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

Thanks Celine

Andy _. asked:

Misleading phrasing in lesson

The lesson states: "You will never use autres on its own," which in the context of the entire lesson appears to mean you would need des or d', since no other option is given for the plural, but you could in fact say, for instance, "ces autres journaux." Even if you want to make the argument that using ces fulfils the point quoted statement as to autres not being alone, it is still misleading at best.

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