Encore vs. Toujours

Megan S.B2Kwiziq community member

Encore vs. Toujours

The last sentence "Je vois encore son sourire quand je l'avais surprise." I thought toujours would be better here as “encore” is more often used to describe something that's not going to last much longer, or something that's been repeated. “Toujours” expresses the fact that it's something frequent, or something very long (in this case, he will likely not forget her smile for a long time). 

 

Could you explain why we use encore here? 

Asked 1 year ago
CélineNative French expert teacher in KwiziqCorrect answer

Bonjour Megan,

Understanding the difference between toujours and encore, when both can be translated with "still", is a tricky grammar point. 

Take a look here: C'est encore/toujours un problème pour moi

I hope this is helpful.

Bonne journée !

Chris W.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

Encore and toujours are both "still" in English. In many situations, it helps to distinguish between them, using how much you stress "still". Here's what I mean:

Tu es toujours là? -- You are still here?
Tu es encore là? -- You are STILL here?!

Encore vs. Toujours

The last sentence "Je vois encore son sourire quand je l'avais surprise." I thought toujours would be better here as “encore” is more often used to describe something that's not going to last much longer, or something that's been repeated. “Toujours” expresses the fact that it's something frequent, or something very long (in this case, he will likely not forget her smile for a long time). 

 

Could you explain why we use encore here? 

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