This was marked incorrect: "...mais ma sœur fait de la natation tous les Samedis." I think it's right though?

Question

This was also marked incorrect: "ou si l'on préfère les activités sportives" (specifically the "l'"). I thought it was correct to place an "l" in that context (i.e., before a vowel")?

Accepted Answer

Hi Tom,
It could be because you have put a capital letter to samedis?

Answer

I think the first sentence would be: ....ma soeur fait la natation tous les samedis.And the l'on: this is a higher register of language. It isn't wrong but may just not have been recognized as correct because it wasn't programmed to do so.

Answer

I was also tempted to write “si l’on” , but figured it would be marked wrong. It is correct although, as Chris said, it is apparently considered a higher register these days. Chris, it couldn’t have been “fait la natation” as you need a form of “de” after “faire” in these expressions. And Cécile, I do not agree with the translation of “ma soeur va nager” because that sounds like the near future tense “my sister is going to (“gonna”) swim on Saturdays”. Either “nage” or “fait de la natation”. I am a French teacher who discovered this website while looking for interesting activities for my students. ;)

Answer

Hi Jane,
This is a good point but tricky to explain -
aller nager = faire de la natation which means the activity of going swimming/ to go for a swim
You might use 'nager' on its own to say for instance -
Ma petite fille nage très bien pour son âge = My grand-daughter swims really well for her age
or 
Elle nage comme un poisson = She swims like a fish
There you are talking of what fish do which is making the required movement to move through water, or a human does to stay afloat in water , you could also say -
Elle apprend à nager = She is learning to swim
Elle nage sous l'eau = She swims under water
But,
Elle fait de la natation/va nager tous les jours = She goes swimming every day 
The tense used is the present.
If you wanted to express a near future you would have to say -
Ma fille va aller nager cet après midi = My daughter is going to go for a swim this afternoon.
Hope this helsp!