French language Q&A Forum

Looking at several online translators (I do realise they aren’t reliable!) - prendre seems to be used quite often to express set, ie when a partly liquid or wobbly filling is allowed to become more solid by cooling, baking or resting eg "Retirer du feu et laisser reposer jusqu’à ce qu’elle commence à prendre" or "jusqu’à ce que la crème soit bien prise". Is this a recognised usage?

Is the first example (Examples and Resources) an error or a weird idiom?

How in the world is this translated "She needs a car" when "Il lui faut" is "HE needs"?!

What is the function of “y” in the phrase “y compris chez les plus jeunes …”?

I know that she did not say Tu vas l'adorer but why didn't she?  Is it an idiosyncratic expression that doesn't require an object?

My question is about:Que dessinent les enfants ?What are the children drawing?, given in the examples;Could you also say, "Que dessinent-ils les enfants?" ?

Could you also say “Ma mère devrait arriver bientôt” instead of “ma mère…d’ici peu”

I understand that the partative article is used for uncountable amounts. e.g. 'je mange des pâtes'. It is clear that pasta is never going to be counted, so it makes sense it would be partative des.

However if i say 'je mange des carottes', I could mean a big plate of chopped up carrots which are uncountable, which would be partative des. 

Or I could mean I am eating 3 whole carrots which are definitely countable. So would this be indefinite des?

Is it the context that would define which article is used? 

How to say "I will arrive": j'arrive or je va arrive?

is, for example, j'habite (or j'hésite) spelt like that even in written texts? If so why?