Why reste means still, doesn't encore means still: mon père reste moins comprehensif que ma mère

shambhavi k.B1Kwiziq community member

Why reste means still, doesn't encore means still: mon père reste moins comprehensif que ma mère

Asked 4 years ago
CécileNative French expert teacher in KwiziqCorrect answer

Hi Shambhavi,

It is because 'reste' is the verb 'rester' and that it means to remain/to stay

(= to still be).

 I can change the English translation if it poses a problem?

Maarten K.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

I think the translation is fine. Literal might be to use 'remains' instead of 'is still' but at least in my part of the world that would seem archaic or pompous, or both. It sometimes helps to have a literal phrase if possible, but often the exercise of trying to understand why it seems different contributes to the biggest breakthroughs. Languages are not exact copies of each other with different words, so we just have to get used to having non-alignment, and ambiguity.

Why reste means still, doesn't encore means still: mon père reste moins comprehensif que ma mère

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