French language Q&A Forum

Hi,

Can someone please explain what this means? Although I have known French for decades, it really didn't seem to make any sense. To be honest, I am very surprised this is level A1, as even I struggled with it and I got really confused when trying to complete the dictation, especially with this sentence.

Thanks

Hi Jim,

Thanks very much for your response.  My query was based on my understanding that, 'lui' referred to their invention- the hot air balloon, which is inanimate. Further clarification would be welcome.

I, too, have a question concerning "s'attendre a ce que..." vs. "attendre que..."

The Kwiz gave this sentence:  "Alain expected the situation to resolve itself."

Two of the translations were simply incorrect and could be immediately ruled out. Of the remaining two:

"Alain s'attendait à ce que cette situation se résolve d'elle-même" was in the end the correct answer, but I ruled that out too, since the lesson states that this is used with a situation where the expectation is negative.

 There is nothing negative about, "Alain expected the situation to resolve itself." If anything, it is a hopeful statement.

"Alain attendait  que cette situation se résolve d'elle-même" was then, the only choice that fits the given phrase. Especially since the lesson states concerning "Attendre que + subjunctive clause":

"This structure is used when you wait for [someone/something else] to do something. Here the waiting is neutral, carrying no connotation of dread or expectation.

It is Certain that Alain is waiting "for [someone/something else] to do something. " And his waiting carries no connotation of dread or expectation.  If anything, his waiting is Positive.

Why then, was the answer the one using "s'attendre a ce que + subjunctive clause" ?

I have read the other question about this very same sentence, but I am still not clear about this lesson.

I agree with everyone that the lesson desperately needs to be rewritten or split up into more than one lesson. I found the first part explaining the difference between, "attendre..." and "s'attendre a..." to be very easily understood. After that, things just kept getting more and more confusing.

Thank you for your help.

Merci beaucoup

Bonjour, 

I certainly do not know enough of French culture and language to discuss your explanation of French usage, below.  However, I disagree that in English, the difference between "may I" and "can I" is that "may I" is more formal.  More accurately, "can I" may be informal and in common usage, yes, but it is also often considered abrupt and somewhat impolite, and this is not only by grammar nerds (or oldies) such as I (or grammar nerds like me, to use more idiomatic speech, ha ha).

The grammatical distinctions are obvious, of course ("can" denoting capacity or ability, "may" is conditional, one is granted capacity).  One hears often, when someone is ordering in a cafe or bar, "can I get a... ".  To many English-speakers, this is grating and impolite.  I, for one, hope that "may I have...", does not go out of idiomatic usage (though perhaps that battle is lost and I am just raving...)

Love Lawless French, by the way,

Alice

This structure is very formal as we stated before, and is usually used to sound particularly polite or even a bit affected: the nearest English equivalent would be to use May I...?"

Several words should be added to the vocabulary to be checked in advance of this exercise: la corvée, la lessive, l'aspirateur, tri des déchets, la poubelle et le lave-vaisselle.

These are not A1 level words!

Could clouer and enfoncer be used interchangeably here or is there a subtle difference ?