Using "avec" or "de" to say with in FrenchThe proper use of prepositions is quirky and hard to master. In the Lumberjack Part 1 writing exercise, the phrase in English is, "he was filling up his sleigh with branches". I thought "avec" was too literal and did not sound "French". I wrote, "Il remplissait son traîneau des branches" because "de" can mean "with" and there were multiple branches.
The correct answers are: "remplissait avec des branches" or "remplissait de branches".
Can someone please explain why "de" becomes the plural "des" after "avec" but is the singular "de" when used alone? Thanks.
PS - I think a unit devoted just to the quirks of prepositions would be helpful as well as a vocabulary unit with all the everyday idioms that use etre, avoir, pouvoir, faire, mettre, tenir together with y or en in sentences like "je n'y suis pour rien" or "je n'en peux plus." It's the little simple words that sound the most "French" but are also the most difficult to master. Thanks again.
"le propriétaire m'a dit que vous étiez mon fournisseur d'électricité".
Can you explain the use of the imperfect tense in this context?
I chose "vous seriez"rather than 'vous étiez". I interpreted "were" as conditional (ie, as "you would be") rather than literally "you were". I thought that Bruno was not already a client of the electricity provider. Is this acceptable?
Are you saying qui can’t be used unless it’s in the inverted form? Here’s the lesson question and I used qui vs qui est-ce que: Qui vous avez envie de revoir ? I know you can’t use the longer version with inverted questions. Thanks for your help.
My French friend says it should be "claustrophobe"? Is that right? Please help clarify.
"... les vetements qu'ils ont choisi" is the correct answer. Why isn't it "les vetements qu'ils ont choisis" so the verb agrees with the direct object?
I thought "plus jamais" et "jamais plus" were both acceptable.
Again, the use of little words like "bien" and "tout" are common in French and not direct translations from English. A unit explaining the uses of these two simple words would be really helpful.
"Il a bien compris." "Il a tout compris." "J'en ai bien envie." "Elle est tout heureuse." "Il y a bien de choses." "Il est a des kilometres de toute trace de civilisation."
Not trying to be a pest, but I would really like to master these simple little words and phrases to feel closer to fluent. Thanks.
The proper use of prepositions is quirky and hard to master. In the Lumberjack Part 1 writing exercise, the phrase in English is, "he was filling up his sleigh with branches". I thought "avec" was too literal and did not sound "French". I wrote, "Il remplissait son traîneau des branches" because "de" can mean "with" and there were multiple branches.
The correct answers are: "remplissait avec des branches" or "remplissait de branches".
Can someone please explain why "de" becomes the plural "des" after "avec" but is the singular "de" when used alone? Thanks.
PS - I think a unit devoted just to the quirks of prepositions would be helpful as well as a vocabulary unit with all the everyday idioms that use etre, avoir, pouvoir, faire, mettre, tenir together with y or en in sentences like "je n'y suis pour rien" or "je n'en peux plus." It's the little simple words that sound the most "French" but are also the most difficult to master. Thanks again.
OK, let me see if I have this straight:
"Qui" means "who" ( a subject).
"Que" means "what" (an object).
"Qui est-ce que" means "whom" (an object).
"Qu'est-ce qui" means "what" (a subject).
Even if I have it right (and I'm not at all sure about that), it's totally confusing. If "qui" means "who," why is it in a phrase that means "what"?
Thanks for any clarification!
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