How to say "I'm watching from beautiful hills"?

Question

Hello,I came across this quiz: "Je regarde de belles collines." which confuses me a lot when choosing the answer. Because if taken out of the context of this specific lesson, I personally can't tell whether it's:1. "I'm looking at some (des) beautiful hills"2. "I'm looking from (de) these (les) beautiful hills " which I think also makes sense.The answers available are: a) "I'm looking at beautiful hills." (correct answer)b) "I'm watching from beautiful hills."Can I ask why a) is correct and b) is not? Is it because "regarder de" doesn't mean "watching from"? If this is the case, what happens if it's another verb + de (in french) that means verb + from (in english)? Better yet, how can I actually say option b) in french?I hope my question makes sense.

Accepted Answer

Usually you'd use regarder depuis as "watching from".
Je regarde de belles collines. -- I'm looking at beautiful hills.Je regarde depuis de belles collines. -- I'm looking from beautiful hills.

Answer

Bonjour Thy,I think the difficulty comes from the confusion between partitive and indefinite articles.In this case, the expression is "I am looking at some hills"  --> Je regarde des collines where "des" is an indefinite article, and the verb is being used transitively.Now, when an adjective is employed "beautiful" then the indefinite article (des) becomes "de" because the adjective precedes the noun (collines).I see this as the nub of the confusion that is between partitive and indefinite articles usage.Je regarde de la position de belles collines  --> I'm watching from beautiful hillsBonne journéeJim