Quand on ouvre les cadeaux ?

Question

Can I assume this can also be used for its literal translation? EX: "When are we going to all get together?" "I don't know. When we open the presents?"

Accepted Answer

Hi Andy,
Quand on ouvre les cadeaux ?
is very colloquial for 'When do we open the presents?' but it is accepted as well as:

Quand est-ce qu'on ouvre les cadeaux ?
Quand ouvre-t-on les cadeaux ?
On ouvre les cadeaux quand ?

Bonne Continuation !

Answer

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Answer

Quand on ouvre les cadeaux? -- When do we open the presents?Yes, that's the literal and explicit meaning. If you think there's an implied meaning that differs from that translation, you would have to look at the context.

Answer

@Chris Sorry, I don't think I was very clear in my question, so allow me to restate: could the phrase also mean "When we open the presents?" (i.e. no "do") if the context justified it, or would that more naturally be said some other way because of the potential ambiguity?

Answer

@Cecile, thank you, but I had asked a different question than what you answered.

Answer

Yes, is the answer to your question Andy. In the context you describe, ‘quand on ouvre les cadeaux ? ‘ could be used in everyday speech as a question-answer to the question ‘when do we all get together’ - similar to what is done in fragmented speech in English.

You are right - there is no ‘do’ in the French expression.