Nul vs. inutile

DerekC1Kwiziq community member

Nul vs. inutile

I notice that 'nul' is used in the response for 'useless' in the passages yet 'inutile' is accepted as the preferred translation in the explanatory paragraph at the end. Why is this so?

This question relates to:French writing exercise "My sense of direction"

Freeform Writing Exercise B2

Asked 2 years ago

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CélineKwiziq team memberCorrect answer

Bonjour Max,

Both 'nul' and 'inutile' are perfectly acceptable in this context. As Chris mentioned, 'nul' is very common and can be seen as derogatory whilst 'inutile' is more "polite". Another possibility has now been added too: 'bon à rien'.

I hope this is helpful.

Bonne journée !

Like22 years ago

ChrisC1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

"Nul" is a very common way to say something is useless in a derogatory way. "Inutile" doesn't have this connotation.

Like22 years ago

Derek asked:View original

Nul vs. inutile

I notice that 'nul' is used in the response for 'useless' in the passages yet 'inutile' is accepted as the preferred translation in the explanatory paragraph at the end. Why is this so?

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