parallel construction? -- en assistant ... en discuter

LorieC1Kwiziq community member

parallel construction? -- en assistant ... en discuter

Vous pourrez également explorer la diversité culturelle des pays francophones en assistant notamment à nos rencontres littéraires, et en discuter les enjeux lors de nos conférences et débats d'idées. 

In this sentence, I'm thinking that in English, there would be parallel construction between "en assistant" and "en discuter." We would say "in attending" and "discussing," but I'm noticing that in French, "discuter" is the infinitive form of the verb rather than the gerund (as in "assistant"). Are the verb forms that were chosen in French optional? And in French, is the lack of parallel construction perfectly acceptable? Could this sentence have also used:

 both "en assistant" and "en discutant"  as the verb forms

OR both "en assister" and "en discuter?"

Thanks for your thoughts on this!

Asked 2 years ago
CélineKwiziq team memberCorrect answer

Bonjour Lorie,

The fact that 'en discuter' is in the infinitive form is because 'vous pourrez' has been omitted:

Vous pourrez également explorer ... en assistant à ..., et vous pourrez en discuter les enjeux...

You will also be able to explore ... by attending ..., and you will be able to discuss the issues (related to the cultural diversity …)

en discuter → ‘en’ doesn’t introduce a gerund – it is a pronoun referring to ‘the cultural diversity of French-speaking countries’

I hope this is helpful.

Bonne journée !

LorieC1Kwiziq community member

Ah, now I see. That is a very helpful explanation, thank you!!

parallel construction? -- en assistant ... en discuter

Vous pourrez également explorer la diversité culturelle des pays francophones en assistant notamment à nos rencontres littéraires, et en discuter les enjeux lors de nos conférences et débats d'idées. 

In this sentence, I'm thinking that in English, there would be parallel construction between "en assistant" and "en discuter." We would say "in attending" and "discussing," but I'm noticing that in French, "discuter" is the infinitive form of the verb rather than the gerund (as in "assistant"). Are the verb forms that were chosen in French optional? And in French, is the lack of parallel construction perfectly acceptable? Could this sentence have also used:

 both "en assistant" and "en discutant"  as the verb forms

OR both "en assister" and "en discuter?"

Thanks for your thoughts on this!

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