explain 'to' please

Ankita M.A0Kwiziq community member

explain 'to' please

tu lis pour te relaxer, you read to relax,  why te is used  for to and not au?

Asked 1 year ago
CécileKwiziq team memberCorrect answer

Hi Ankita,

The verb to relax is ‘se relaxer’ in French and it is reflexive so in that sentence -

Tu lis pour te relaxer You read to relax (yourself)

the 'te' represents yourself.

Other forms will have the appropriate reflexive pronouns -

Je lis pour me relaxer= I read to relax (myself)

Elle/il lit pour se relaxer= She/he/reads to relax (herself/himself)

Nous lisons pour nous relaxer We read to relax ourselves

Vous lisez pour vous relaxer You read to relax yourselves

Ils /elles lisent pour se relaxer = They read to relax themselves

Hope this helps

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Maarten K.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

Ankita,  the French sentence translated more directly to English is effectively ‘you read (in order/to be able) to relax you (yourself)’. That is not how we would say it in English - a more natural/colloquial translation is given. 

There is no French preposition for ‘to’ required - the French infinitive is not the same form as English infinitives

 https://www.lawlessfrench.com/grammar/infinitive

The verb ‘Relaxer’ is transitive in French, and requires a direct object, hence the direct object pronoun placed before the verb infinitive

 https://www.wordreference.com/fren/relaxer

 Position of French Object Pronouns - with infinitives

Emmanuel A.A2Kwiziq community member

It confuses me when I see " he vais dans la salle pour laver". Why the preposition "dans" and not " à "  . Please can I get any explanation for the use of "dans"?

Emmanuel A.A2Kwiziq community member

It confuses me when I see " he vais dans la salle pour laver". Why the preposition "dans" and not " à "  . Please can I get any explanation for the use of "dans"?

Maarten K.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

Emmanuel, ‘dans’ is used to specifically indicate ‘into’ rather than just ‘to’. 

As a general rule, French tends to be quite precise and particular with preposition use, and tends to minimise ambiguity.

explain 'to' please

tu lis pour te relaxer, you read to relax,  why te is used  for to and not au?

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