Je n’ai jamais aimé le goût de la viande
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Andy N.Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor
Je n’ai jamais aimé le goût de la viande
Hello. In your week 26 A2 writing test the above line is given as a correct translation of 'I've never liked the taste of meat.'
As this lesson shows I believe there may be an error here.
In this context the verb describes an ongoing state of affairs, without a set start and without a set finish, (if indeed this state does end.) Unless I'm mistaken I believe this would be better expressed in the imparfait.
I'd love some clarification here if possible. Thanks!
This question relates to:French lesson "Expressing opinions and describing with the imperfect tense in French (L'Imparfait)"
Asked 7 years ago
Bonjour Andy !
If you used L'Imparfait here - "Je n'aimais jamais le goût de la viande" - it would be like saying "I was never liking the taste of meat" or "I never used to like the taste of meat".
Remember that the English Present Perfect is translated in French either by Le Passé Composé or by Le Présent.
I hope that's helpful!
Bonnes Fêtes et à bientôt !
Andy N.Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor
Hi Aurélie, thanks for your kind response.
Thanks to your explanation I can now clearly see how my belief that the phrase would be better expressed in the imparfait was very wrong. I had of course completely forgotten that the English Present Perfect may be translated by either Le Passé Composé or by Le Présent.
I did find this one very tricky though, thanks for providing further illumination!
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