In the two examples above, the expression ''They can't believe'' is translated as Ils n'arrivent pas a croire. I believe it could also be translated as Ils ne peuvent pas croire. If so, is there a preference in spoken French?
Use of 'Arriver a (with accent)
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Brian D.Kwiziq community member
Use of 'Arriver a (with accent)
This question relates to:French lesson "Conjugate vouloir in the subjunctive present in French (Le Subjonctif Présent)"
Asked 1 year ago
Bonjour Brian,
In French, "pouvoir" has a more neutral tone than "ne pas arriver à" (which implies a failure in succeeding). In the case of "cannot believe [something]" using "ne pas arriver à + [verb]" is correct (it means that you cannot picture something as possible rather than "cannot do [something]").
I hope this is helpful.
Bonne journée !
Chris W. Kwiziq Q&A super contributor
Ne pouvoir pas faire qqc means that you can't do something but not that you failed trying.
N'arriver pas à faire qqc expresses the failure, i.e., you tried but failed.
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