Nous that are plural in English

Bob C.C1Kwiziq community member

Nous that are plural in English

For: La police est arrivée trop tard.

In english, police and policemen are (la même chose) the same thing, plural nouns, yes? So why then is 'The police arrived too late.' a correct answer and 'The policemen arrived too late.' is not? 

Asked 2 years ago
Maarten K.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor Correct answer

"La police est...' refers to the system level, or the police force 'ensemble', collectively, generally. 

If talking of the people, multiple individuals, -  'police officers' (or 'policemen' in olden English days !) - it would be 'les policiers sont . . .' in French

Chris W.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

I haven't heard "policemen" used in place of "police" in US English.  "Police" is used to mean "police force" (la police in French), a kind of generic term. Instead of "policemen" you'd be much more likely to hear "police officers" (les policiers in French).

Anyhow, this is just to say that you shouldn't fixate on the English. It would be impossible to satisfy every variant and alternate way of saying things.

Nous that are plural in English

For: La police est arrivée trop tard.

In english, police and policemen are (la même chose) the same thing, plural nouns, yes? So why then is 'The police arrived too late.' a correct answer and 'The policemen arrived too late.' is not? 

Sign in to submit your answer

Don't have an account yet? Join today

Ask a question

Find your French level for FREE

Test your French to the CEFR standard

Find your French level
Thinking...