When looking around on the internet, it seems like "Retourner" is used here and there, both informal on message boards and formal on shopping sites (for example H&M website: "POUR RETOURNER UN ACHAT EN LIGNE"), for indicating returning an item.
Could you elaborate on this and why you write "Retourner never means to return (something) in the context of a shop for example." ?
Hi Dieter,
After discussion with colleagues and people in France, it does appear that the verb 'retourner' is used on websites, and also 'faire un retour' for what is 'online returns'.
This is an evolution of the language to include 'anglicisms' as life becomes more complex.
I actually would prefer 'renvoyer' (which is used also) as it means to send back and is more accurate imho.
Thank you for bringing this up!
Bonjour Dieter,
From the lesson: -
"ATTENTION:I'm having some difficulty when trying to improve on the lesson as it stands.
The internet is useful sometimes but should not be used as a 100% reliable source when put against a credible grammar resource as above in the lesson.
Please repost if you remain unclear.
Bonne continuation
Jim
Thanks for taking the time to answer Jim. My question is more about the usage of the language. Could be that "retourner" is incorrect grammatically in this context but apparently it is used by people and companies (which to me is a sign that it can't be completely wrong to use it). It would be interesting to hear a french speaker input on this
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