Il faut faire son lit
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JenniferKwiziq Q&A regular contributor
Il faut faire son lit
Why is it not il faut faire ton or votre lit, rather than son
This question relates to:French lesson "Il faut : expressing necessity and obligation"
Asked 3 years ago
Bonjour Jennifer,
Il faut is an impersonal expression, so when talking about making one's bed in general, you need son.
If you were telling a specific person to make their bed, you'd use ton or votre.
Il faut faire son lit. = You (as in everyone/people) must make his (one's) bed.
Il faut faire ton lit. = You (specifically) must make your bed.
Ron Kwiziq Q&A super contributor
Bonsoir Jennifer,
I think that we have a possessive pronoun issue here.
ton --> your
votre --> your (formal or plural)
SON --> his
This lessons concerns the shortcut to avoid the use of the subjunctive. Using le subjonctif one would say:
Il faut QU'il (elle) fasse son lit. --> It is necessary that he makes his bed.
I hope this helps.
JenniferKwiziq Q&A regular contributor
Thank you both. The question came in the quiz and the translation I think was you must make your bed , which sounds as if it is directed at a specific person, hence my question. I think the problem is English uses ‘one’ in theory, but in ptactice much more rarely than in French and you then can be ambiguous, is it an impersonal usage or not.
HelenKwiziq Q&A regular contributor
Laura, would you also say this in the subjunctive?: "Il faut que tu fasses ton lit"
Il faut faire ton lit. = You (specifically) must make your bed.
Is there any difference in the way these are used?
LauraKwiziq team member
Yes, you can use the subjunctive, that makes it a stronger, more specific command.
Jennifer asked:View original
Il faut faire son lit
Why is it not il faut faire ton or votre lit, rather than son
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