Question about understanding the right tense. Bonjour Madame Cécile !
I wrote to you regarding a nuance between the use of tenses in the Past Time a while ago.
You had provided me with this sentence ->
Après qu'il avait vu ce film, il avait été bouleversé .
After reading your answer several times, I understand that you mentioned “avait été” instead of “était” because once he ‘had seen’ the film , then he ‘had completely got shattered’ which happens immediately as the film finishes; making the actions almost simultaneous.
Hence, the use of le plus-que Parfait is recommended.
So in response to a question I had asked earlier ->
What does the use of Le plus-que-Parfait signify about the sequence of events happening in the sentences ? Does it connote an action getting completed or finished prior to another or simultaneous actions occurring in the past ?
It can also be used to signify an action getting completed prior to another however, the time interval between the two actions in the past should be a longer one .
As in the sentence-
Nous étions très surpris de les voir, car ils n'étaient pas venus ici depuis trois ans.-> We were very surprised to see them, for they hadn't come here for three years.
The action of “not coming there” got finished three years ago and the result of this action is that ‘they were surprised to see them when they returned’
J'étais sorti de la voiture quand je les ai entendus.-> I'd got out of the car when I heard them.
The action of “getting out of the car” was finished long back . He was already out when he heard their sound.
Elles étaient allées manger une glace quand le voleur est venu.-> They had gone to eat an ice cream when the thief came.
Here, the sentence emphasises on the point that the girls were not at home (they had already went out) when the thief entered. [LONGER TIME GAP]
If one writes it as - Elles sont allées manger une glace quand le voleur est venu.
This will imply that the action of the girls going to the ice cream parlour happened in close proximity to the action of the thief entering the house. [SHORTER TIME GAP] which makes the case less elegant.
Is my justification correct ? Again, thanks for spending time to respond.
Frankly speaking Madame, I am working really hard to get right with my tenses and your endeavour and support is crucial to hone my skills.
Bonne journée!
«C'était tellement amusant qu'il y est retourné plus tard.It was such fun that he went back later! Note that in each case where être is the auxilliary, the verb retourner is followed by a preposition (en, sur, dans, à etc.).
So, in these cases retourner is usually about going back somewhere, or returning somewhere.»
I think the explanation needs a little expansion - considering it is contradicted by the example immediately preceding it.
Why does this sentence use "en" instead of "dans"? I thought "You got into the car quickly" should be "Tu es monté dans la voiture rapidement." Is there a difference in meaning or can I use "en" and "dans" interchangeably to express getting into a car?
Does the word intensivement not exist in French? I used it in a test and it was marked incorrect and intensément given as the correct version.
I am having the same difficulty as others here--my definitions of the English words don't match the definitions used in the lessons, so it's hard for me to wrap my brain around the translations.
One particular translation I am confused by is "plusieurs". I learned that to mean 'many', and that is how Google Translate defines it, but in my writing exercise "plusieurs défauts" for 'many faults' was marked wrong, and the lesson says it means 'several'. Is that right? It's so confusing!
After I learn about the subject pronouns prepositions and nouns what would be the next thing to learn?
Any suggestions?
Nicole, I do not see a ‘vocabulary themes’ tab. Where is that?
1. C'est une marque de voitures anglaise
2. Nous désirons acheter une voiture d'une marque anglaise
The What are the rules of placing marque relative to voiture and anglaise? Why is there repetition of "une" in #2 to refer to each noun (voiture/marque), when there is no such repetition in #1? I was expecting to see "Nous désirons acheter une voiture de marque anglaise" (similar to the structure in #1). Thanks for your help! Rod
As they basically mean the same thing in this context.
Bonjour Madame Cécile !
I wrote to you regarding a nuance between the use of tenses in the Past Time a while ago.
You had provided me with this sentence ->
Après qu'il avait vu ce film, il avait été bouleversé .
After reading your answer several times, I understand that you mentioned “avait été” instead of “était” because once he ‘had seen’ the film , then he ‘had completely got shattered’ which happens immediately as the film finishes; making the actions almost simultaneous.
Hence, the use of le plus-que Parfait is recommended.
So in response to a question I had asked earlier ->
What does the use of Le plus-que-Parfait signify about the sequence of events happening in the sentences ? Does it connote an action getting completed or finished prior to another or simultaneous actions occurring in the past ?
It can also be used to signify an action getting completed prior to another however, the time interval between the two actions in the past should be a longer one .
As in the sentence-
Nous étions très surpris de les voir, car ils n'étaient pas venus ici depuis trois ans.-> We were very surprised to see them, for they hadn't come here for three years.
The action of “not coming there” got finished three years ago and the result of this action is that ‘they were surprised to see them when they returned’
J'étais sorti de la voiture quand je les ai entendus.-> I'd got out of the car when I heard them.
The action of “getting out of the car” was finished long back . He was already out when he heard their sound.
Elles étaient allées manger une glace quand le voleur est venu.-> They had gone to eat an ice cream when the thief came.
Here, the sentence emphasises on the point that the girls were not at home (they had already went out) when the thief entered. [LONGER TIME GAP]
If one writes it as - Elles sont allées manger une glace quand le voleur est venu.
This will imply that the action of the girls going to the ice cream parlour happened in close proximity to the action of the thief entering the house. [SHORTER TIME GAP] which makes the case less elegant.
Is my justification correct ? Again, thanks for spending time to respond.
Frankly speaking Madame, I am working really hard to get right with my tenses and your endeavour and support is crucial to hone my skills.
Bonne journée!
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