Naître in the present and past tenses
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John C.Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor
Naître in the present and past tenses
One of the test questions for this lesson is:
Zoë est née avant Lèo. Zoë is born before Léo. Is this past tense translation correct because the speaker is necessarily speaking about a past event? Could we use the present tense here?
This question relates to:French lesson "Conjugate mourir, naître, décéder, devenir, rester (+ être) in the compound past in French (Le Passé Composé)"
Asked 8 years ago
Bonjour John,
Yes, it's definitely a translation error.
If you used the present of "naître" in French, it would mean they're being born right now, or weirder, that they're born regularly !
You can use the present form in a general context, for example:
"Tous les ans, des quintuplés naissent dans le monde." (Every year, quintuplets are born in the world.)
The error has been fixed!
Merci et à bientôt !
Yes, it's definitely a translation error.
If you used the present of "naître" in French, it would mean they're being born right now, or weirder, that they're born regularly !
You can use the present form in a general context, for example:
"Tous les ans, des quintuplés naissent dans le monde." (Every year, quintuplets are born in the world.)
The error has been fixed!
Merci et à bientôt !
LauraFrench expert and teacher in Kwiziq
Bonjour,
It's a mistake, it should say "was born," or else, as you suggest, naître should be in the present tense.
Jennifer C.Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor
What about in a dramatic real time senario, eg the baby is born as the clock strikes midnight. Would the french be nait or est né?
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