Why in the sentence 'je commençais déjà à me sentir en vacances' is there no "j'étais" to say "feel like I WAS on holiday"?

James W.C1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

Why in the sentence 'je commençais déjà à me sentir en vacances' is there no "j'étais" to say "feel like I WAS on holiday"?

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

Commencer à -- to begin to...

Je commence à me sentir en vacances. -- I begin to feel on vacation.
Je commencais à me sentir en vacances. -- I was beginning to feel on vacation.

As you can see, the phrase me sentir en vacances remains the same, no matter the tense. And the English use of "was" is not reflected in the French. In fact, as the above examples demonstrate, you don't need "was" in the English either.

Jim J.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

I would have added  "already"

je commençais déjà à me sentir en vacances

I already began to feel on vacation.

Otherwise, I'm with Chris.

Jim

Why in the sentence 'je commençais déjà à me sentir en vacances' is there no "j'étais" to say "feel like I WAS on holiday"?

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