"rentrerons à la maison"

Emily H.A2Kwiziq community member

"rentrerons à la maison"

Why can't we say retournerons chez nous? 

Asked 1 year ago
Maarten K.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor Correct answer

There are several ways to say ‘return or go back’ in French and they have specific usage and meaning. They are therefore not interchangeable - all very confusing initially for non-native speakers. Only ‘rentrer’ fits here - as they are going back to the place they are staying at.

The attached link will help with understanding and developing a feel for the verbs rentrer, revenir and retourner, in particular 

https://www.frenchtoday.com/blog/french-verb-conjugation/to-return/

 

 

 

Chris W.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

Retourner is almost a faux ami in English as it means something different than what its similarity with the English "to return" implies. Think of it as "going back to a place for a brief time without staying there".
Je retourne chez mois pour récoupérer mon manteau. -- I'm going back home to pick up my coat.

Use rentrer if you're talking about coming back and staying someplace:´
Tu rentres quand? -- When will you be back?

Revenir is "coming back", i.e., returning after an absence.
Il revient bientôt.
-- He'll be back shortly.

"rentrerons à la maison"

Why can't we say retournerons chez nous? 

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...