French language Q&A Forum

Like everyone else, I find this lesson very confusing, and I think it is because it's using a very poor example of when to use articles. I believe the translation is incorrect. 

Je n'aime ni le fromage ni le lait.
I like neither cheese nor milk.

If this example is talking about specific cheese and specific milk, then the English translation should be, "I like neither the cheese nor the milk." But that is not what you have here. The translation you give is general, not specific. It really makes the whole lesson contradictory and confusing.

Why can't I say "Nous faisons du progrès."  Do I have to say "des progrès"?

Are both of these sentences grammatically correct? I understand why 'ce qui' in the first sentence is correct, but not why 'ce que' would be correct in the second one. I would be grateful for an explanation.

Ce qui à un moment donné est le substrat, n’est pas chaud

In this listening practice, it is stated that the preferred response is 'je prends mon petit-déjeuner' - that is, with the hyphen. I left the hyphen out. Checking on the Academie Francaise site dictionary, it does not appear to recognise the hyphenated form as being accepted at all, and refers to déjeuner as either the first or midday meal, noting that in common use 'un petit déjeuner' is used for 'a breakfast'. It does note that déjeuner itself is also a verb intransitive form, but does not list petit-déjeuner (or the informal petit-déj) as accepted. The Academie is obviously prescriptive generally and French for France, but even for dictionairies with a more descriptive approach, such as Larousse, the hyphenated form is not listed as a 'noun', and only as being used as a V.I. (familier) at times (ie Je petit-déjeuner and translated as meaning «je prends (son) petit déjeuner». On the other hand, le Robert dico en ligne, does denote the hyphenated form as a noun. At the least, I think it is incorrect in the lesson to suggest the preferred form should be hyphenated, as at best it seems to me an argument can be made that either is acceptable (although not if the Academie remains the ultimate reference for material on this website). Worth a look?

Je suis Robert!   Aujourd'hui c'est mon dernier jour de travailler!  This dictee was the perfect way for me to celebrate my retirement.  Thanks for all you do  and especially for this particular exercise!

Stuart

I thought "ignorer" was one of those false friends and actually meant "not to know" rather than "ignore".

Can you clarify?  Thanks.

I am a premium subscriber.  Why can't I take Kwizes more often than weekly or longer?

One of the quiz items is "Je ferais n'importe quoi par amour." Why is "par" used here instead of "pour"?