Q&A Forum

The lesson contains the sentence "To express the more formal expression for fear that / out of fear that + verb in the Conditional (= for fear that you would do this) or may do/might do in French, the structure is a bit more complicated". My question is: a bit more complicated than what? It's confusing.

Why is "ce dont on a envie" (in the fourth sentence) not correct here? For that matter, why is "ce qu'on a envie" correct? The expression is "avoir envie de", isn't it?  What am I missing here?

Also: why must the past tense in English ("didn't pay", "were encouraged") necessarily be translated as the present tense ("ne paye pas", "est encouragé") in French?

And finally, why  is it incorrect to use "souhaiter" rather than "aimer" in the last sentence?

For example, I am wondering why the phrase je me fais faire de nouvelles sandales (I am having new sandals made) requires the "me" - would the meaning be changed if it was omitted?

Cecile, 

I believe, 'Alice never listens to you.' would be:

Alice ne t'ecoute jamais.        Sorry, I don't know how to put accents with my keyboard

Really useful rules & exceptions lists to help structure my thinking. Thanks. 

À 5 ans, j'avais les cheveux courts.
When I was 5, I had short hair.

En 2004, j'avais de l'argent.
In 2004, I had money.

If I'm asked to translate 'I had', I instinctively reach for Le Passé Composé ('j'ai eu').

If I'm asked to translate « j'avais », I will say 'I used to have' rather than 'I had'.

I think I understand why L'Imparfait is more appropriate in these examples:  they are both prefixed with a clause that limits the statement to a specific time in the past.  It just never seems obvious until I've given the wrong answer.  

The correct answer for the question: Il ________ repassé chez toi hier soir. 

In this sentence, "période pendant laquelle apparaissaient les fortes chaleurs," is "apparaissaient" the correct tense? 

Shouldn't it agree with the noun "période?" 

Hence "période pendant laquelle apparaissait les fortes chaleurs?" 

I've answered the quiz question: "J'ai peur qu'ils _________ la vérité." with "ne sachent."  This was marked incorrect and the correct answer was "sachent."  I submitted that as an error, but the response there was to come here and ask why it's incorrect.  

I've reviewed the 'ne explétif' lesson over and over and am sure I've lost my mind.  In that lesson, "avoir peur que" is NOT marked as depending on whether the phrase is negative and says that it always takes the 'ne'.  Can anyone help me understand why my answer is incorrect? Many, many thanks.