Does the translation match up for “leur lettre”, or should it be “leurs lettres”?

BrianC1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

Does the translation match up for “leur lettre”, or should it be “leurs lettres”?

Asked 3 years ago
CélineKwiziq team memberCorrect answer

Bonjour Brian,

- ' les enfant écrivaient leurs lettres' = 'the children wrote their letters to Santa' 

→ the children have several letters each

- 'les enfants écrivaient leur lettre' = 'the children wrote their letter to Santa'

→ the children wrote the same letter / there is only one letter

- 'les enfants écrivaient leur lettre' = 'the children wrote their letters to Santa'

→ the children wrote one letter each / have a different letter each

 I hope this is helpful.

Bonne journée

ChrisC1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

A worthwhile point to remember: in French you take the point of view of the individual, not the collective, in such cases.

BrianC1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

Ahhhhh! That’s an important distinction between French & English that I wasn’t aware of. Very useful - thanks. 

Does the translation match up for “leur lettre”, or should it be “leurs lettres”?

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