Present continuous action

Lewis S.C1Kwiziq community member

Present continuous action

Bonjour, team. "Anne est en train d'aller à Paris." In addition to, "Anne is going to Paris", would a more precise translation be, "Anne is on her way to Paris"? Would the second translation be correct?
Asked 6 years ago
Chris W.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor Correct answer

Translating between languages isn't an exact science and requires knowledge of the context.
From your question I glean that you have understood what the phrase "être en train de...." expresses. Which English translation you choose is now a matter of context and taste. But, to put it succinctly, "Anne is on her way to Paris" is within the bounds of the French original sentence.

-- Chris (not a native speaker).

AurélieNative French expert teacher in KwiziqCorrect answer

Bonjour Lewis !

Actually no: the sentence "Anne est en train d'aller à Paris." doesn't literally mean this.

Of course, as Chris stated, you can always take liberties as a translator, and indeed, even in English, "Anne is going to Paris" and "Anne is on her way to Paris" mean roughly the same thing, but they are still two different sentences :)

In French, the equivalent would be "Anne est en train d'aller à Paris" vs "Anne est en route pour Paris".

I hope that's helpful!
Bonne journée !

Present continuous action

Bonjour, team. "Anne est en train d'aller à Paris." In addition to, "Anne is going to Paris", would a more precise translation be, "Anne is on her way to Paris"? Would the second translation be correct?

Sign in to submit your answer

Don't have an account yet? Join today

Ask a question

Find your French level for FREE

Test your French to the CEFR standard

Find your French level
Getting that for you now...