Why is the translation 'Le club fermera dans dix minutes" wrong in answer to the question "The club closes in 10 minutes''
when 'fermera' translates to 'will close' Or 'The club will close in 10 minutes'
But 'Le club ferme dans dix minutes' is the correct answer. Surely 'will close' and 'closes' is the same meaning.
Bonjour Tim,
As mentioned in the replies, in ‘Le club ferme dans dix minutes’, the present tense is used to express a near/immediate future. However it isn’t a true future as such, like ‘fermera’ is.
What gives a clue is the expression of time ‘dans dix minutes’ which tells you that it is close to happen rather than very far in the future like ‘fermera’ does.
Il part en retraite dans dix jours = He is retiring / is about to retire in ten days
Je pars en vacances demain soir = I am going on holiday tomorrow evening
I hope this is helpful.
Bonne journée!
You make a fair point and I agree with you in English.
But in French we have to be clear about the time frame. Are we trying to express near future, far future or something almost immediate? So in french we can write "Le club ferme dans dix minutes" to mean the club closes in ten minutes. In English we may write "will close" or "is about to close" or "is closing" to express this type of situation.
Hope that helps you to understand more clearly.
Alan (Jim)
Also, consider the title of the lesson: it is trying to teach you the use of the present tense for near-future events.
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