Some questions..

Ian L.C1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

Some questions..

Dear all, some queries:

1. Could "I'd been certain" is translated as "je m'étais senti certain"  ?

2. Could "la chance n'était pas de mon côté" have been translated as "les chances n'étaient pas de mon côté" ?

3. Could "Nous serions ensuite allés dans sa nouvelle maison" be translated as "Nous serions allés ensuite à  sa maison neuve" ? Queries here about  "dans sa nouvelle maison" vs "à  sa maison neuve" and also about the position of "ensuite" in the sentence.

4. Could "que j'aurais fait meubler au préalable" be translated as "que j’aurais fourni en avance" ?

5. Could "au fil des ans" have been translated as "pendant les années" ?

Thanks in advance as always.


Thanks 

Asked 3 years ago
Chris W.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor Correct answer

I'll try to answer at least some of your questions:

1. Could "I'd been certain" is translated as "je m'étais senti certain"?
That doesn't sound right in French.

2. Could "la chance n'était pas de mon côté" have been translated as "les chances n'étaient pas de mon côté"? 
I don't think so. "Luck" is la chance, that doesn't work in plural.

3. Could "Nous serions ensuite allés dans sa nouvelle maison" be translated as "Nous serions allés ensuite à  sa maison neuve" ? Queries here about  "dans sa nouvelle maison" vs "à  sa maison neuve" and also about the position of "ensuite" in the sentence.
The standard placement of adverbs is right after the first conjugated verb. So I'd have to say no to this one, too. Using the prepositions dans emphasizes that he entered into the house. Whether you use à or dans depends on what exactly you want to say. And regarding nouvelle or neuve, that depends also on the context. In general, one uses nouveau/nouvelle unless it is important to stress the fact that something is brand new.

4. Could "que j'aurais fait meubler au préalable" be translated as "que j’aurais fourni en avance"?
No, I don't think so. The verb fournir primarily means "to furnish", "to provide".

5. Could "au fil des ans" have been translated as "pendant les années" ?
Au fil des ans is a bit poetic to say, "over the years". Here, I would say that pendant is probably a synonym.

CélineNative French expert teacher in Kwiziq

Bonjour Ian,

3. Queries here about "dans sa nouvelle maison" vs "à sa maison neuve":

neuf = brand new (never been used before)

nouveau = new (in a general sense)

See links on neuf vs nouveau :

- lesson

new-as-in-another-versus-new-as-in-brand-new

 

I hope this is helpful.

Bonne journée !

Ian L. asked:

Some questions..

Dear all, some queries:

1. Could "I'd been certain" is translated as "je m'étais senti certain"  ?

2. Could "la chance n'était pas de mon côté" have been translated as "les chances n'étaient pas de mon côté" ?

3. Could "Nous serions ensuite allés dans sa nouvelle maison" be translated as "Nous serions allés ensuite à  sa maison neuve" ? Queries here about  "dans sa nouvelle maison" vs "à  sa maison neuve" and also about the position of "ensuite" in the sentence.

4. Could "que j'aurais fait meubler au préalable" be translated as "que j’aurais fourni en avance" ?

5. Could "au fil des ans" have been translated as "pendant les années" ?

Thanks in advance as always.


Thanks 

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...