N'importe quoi ("nonsense") translation into EnglishWhat clicked for me abruptly when reading this lesson is that there is a relatively good translation that comes to mind: "whatever". Now, my English grammar isn't academic level, but the original meanings of both "n'importe quoi" and "whatever" would appear to to suggest "anything".
Example: "take anything you want" / "take whatever you want"
The similarity is astonishing when you consider the other use of "whatever", namely, "used to express astonishment or perplexity"
Example: "whatever do you mean by that", but also "Whatever!"
I'd be interested in hearing whether this brings clarity on the popular meaning of "n'importe quoi" in French, as it seems to parallel English so closely in its deviation from tradition.
Sometimes you see India written like Inde (Informations générales sur Inde)
Sometimes you see with an l' connaissance de l'Inde
How to know when to use l' and when not to?
Another verb + preposition question. Why is it "rester à les regarder" instead of "rester pour les regarder"?
Pourriez-vous expliquer les possibilités pour "thickness" svp?
Est-ce correct de dire:
Le mur fait 30 centimètres d'épaisseur?
est-ce qu'il y a d'autres possibilités?
Merci d'avance.
As in, I know that 'un' in masculine, and 'une' is feminine, but how do you tell if an everyday object is masculine or feminine.
pleasehelp me on how to improve my listening ability. please
Pourquoi les mots "jeudi et vendredi" sont-ils pluriels alors que les autres jours sont singuliers (le lundi, le mardi, le mercredi)? All of the activities seems to be habitual ones that occur on that day of the week -- even the ones on Thursdays and Friday
What clicked for me abruptly when reading this lesson is that there is a relatively good translation that comes to mind: "whatever". Now, my English grammar isn't academic level, but the original meanings of both "n'importe quoi" and "whatever" would appear to to suggest "anything".
Example: "take anything you want" / "take whatever you want"
The similarity is astonishing when you consider the other use of "whatever", namely, "used to express astonishment or perplexity"
Example: "whatever do you mean by that", but also "Whatever!"
I'd be interested in hearing whether this brings clarity on the popular meaning of "n'importe quoi" in French, as it seems to parallel English so closely in its deviation from tradition.
Find your French level for FREE
Test your French to the CEFR standard
Find your French level