"nous étions de retour de l'école"

Gary B.C1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

"nous étions de retour de l'école"

Can you explain grammatically the construction if this phrase?  I get that it means "we got home from school", but it seems unnecessarily complicated.  Could you not say "nous étions retourné de l'école"?

Asked 1 year ago
CécileNative French expert teacher in KwiziqCorrect answer

Hi Gary,

The two expressions we accept for 'to be home / back from school' are 

être de retour de l'école 

être rentré de l'école

'retourné is wrong here.

Bonne continuation !

 

Gary B.C1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

Thank you Cécile !  I was confused by the "de"s in the phrase, but I see they are just a part of the phrase.

Radhika S.B2Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

"nous étions de retour de l'école"

Can you explain grammatically the construction if this phrase?  I get that it means "we got home from school", but it seems unnecessarily complicated.  Could you not say "nous étions retourné de l'école"?

Sign in to submit your answer

Don't have an account yet? Join today

Ask a question

Find your French level for FREE

Test your French to the CEFR standard

Find your French level
I'll be right with you...