Puzzling translation

Question

Mes amis pèlent tous les étés !My friends' skin peels every summer
Should this be "My friends peel every summer"  as the French seems to imply more than one friend ?

Accepted Answer

Hi Janet,
Peler in this intransitive (without an object) form means to lose your own skin as in peeling after sunburnt. So I think the word skin was added in the translation to clarify the meaning but i don't think it is necessary.
Peler comes from 'peau' (skin) and it means enlever la peau in a transitive form (peeling something.) e.g.
Je vais peler mon raisin avant de le manger. (I am going to peel my grapes before eating them.)
Il faut peler et couper les pommes de terre en petits dés. (You have to peel and cut the potatoes into little cubes.)
On peut manger une pomme sans la peler. (You can eat an apple without peeling it.)
Hope this helps!

Answer

"My friends' skin" does imply more than one friend, because the apostrophe comes after the s.

Answer

Thanks, but then it should be peel and not peels. Is the word 'skin' just implied in the French?

Answer

Although "friends'" is plural, skin is singular, so "peels" is correct.

Answer

Merci bien :)