French language Q&A Forum
Questions answered by our learning community with help from expert French teachers
13,697 questions • 29,346 answers • 834,754 learners
Questions answered by our learning community with help from expert French teachers
13,697 questions • 29,346 answers • 834,754 learners
The phrase 'Don’t let it get you down' is generally translated into French as 'Ne te laisse pas abattre'. But, literally, the phrase appears to mean 'Don't let yourself cut down'. Wouldn't better ways to say it in French be 'Ne le laisse pas t'abattre' or 'Ne te laisse pas être abattu'?
Are there any other phrases like this, where the active voice is translated as passive?
[And why is my question suddenly centre justified?]
Tu nous vas mettre en retard ….. why can’t we say tu nous vas faire en retard?
why not en passant or il se trouve? I don't understand usage of "justement" here for "as it happens"
Consider...
1. "Paul should have left earlier."
2. "Paul should have had to leave earlier."As I understand it, both these sentences would be translated as "Paul aurait dû partir plus tôt", even though, in English, there is a difference in meaning. Is there a better way to translate #2 to convey the meaning that Paul was compelled to leave?
I notice in the phrase 'était apparue gracieusement sur cet étrange engin' the adverb is placed after the participle, not the conjugated verb. Am I right in thinking adverbs normally go directly after the conjugated verb ?
In the lesson i wrote Tu me RAPELLE ta mere; but the correct answer is given as RAPELLES, which seems like a plural
Why is "leur" the object pronoun for la police when la police is a singular noun?
Find your French level for FREE
Test your French to the CEFR standard
Find your French level