Have I translated this correctly? - French Language2024-03-29T07:36:43Zhttp://www.forum.french-linguistics.co.uk/forum/topics/have-i-translated-this?commentId=3179028%3AComment%3A11840&x=1&feed=yes&xn_auth=noMerci pour votre aide, Frank.…tag:www.forum.french-linguistics.co.uk,2010-01-25:3179028:Comment:118402010-01-25T17:04:28.332ZAl Grahamhttp://www.forum.french-linguistics.co.uk/profile/AlGraham
Merci pour votre aide, Frank.<br />
<br />
Regards,<br />
Al
Merci pour votre aide, Frank.<br />
<br />
Regards,<br />
Al Hi Al,
It's almost perfect.…tag:www.forum.french-linguistics.co.uk,2010-01-25:3179028:Comment:118262010-01-25T09:35:13.567ZFrankhttp://www.forum.french-linguistics.co.uk/profile/j
Hi Al,<br />
<br />
It's almost perfect. Just a little blunder:<br />
<b>le n'est pas toujours disponible</b><br />
<br />
"le" can hardly be a subject. Replace it with <b>qui</b> :<br />
<br />
<b>un phénomène naturel <u>qui</u> n'est pas toujours disponible</b>.<br />
<br />
"disponible" is okay, but it suggests something that different people can't see or use at the same time. One has to wait for it to become available.<br />
<br />
In your case <b>n'est pas toujours <u>visible</u></b> would be a better fit.
Hi Al,<br />
<br />
It's almost perfect. Just a little blunder:<br />
<b>le n'est pas toujours disponible</b><br />
<br />
"le" can hardly be a subject. Replace it with <b>qui</b> :<br />
<br />
<b>un phénomène naturel <u>qui</u> n'est pas toujours disponible</b>.<br />
<br />
"disponible" is okay, but it suggests something that different people can't see or use at the same time. One has to wait for it to become available.<br />
<br />
In your case <b>n'est pas toujours <u>visible</u></b> would be a better fit. Hi Neil,
I've changed the ge…tag:www.forum.french-linguistics.co.uk,2010-01-25:3179028:Comment:118242010-01-25T06:16:34.757ZAl Grahamhttp://www.forum.french-linguistics.co.uk/profile/AlGraham
Hi Neil,<br />
<br />
I've changed the genders in the second sentence and the adjectives (séparés/vu), but am not sure what the bolding of <i>dans Canada du nord</i> indicates. It's not that <i>Canada</i> requires an article in this phrase, is it? I've also deleted <i>ce</i> from the second-last sentence. Am I getting closer?<br />
<br />
<i>Si je pouvais recommander trois attractions aux visiteurs du Canada, je choisirais les Montagnes Rocheuses, les Chutes du Niagara, et l’aurore boréale. Les deux premières sont…</i>
Hi Neil,<br />
<br />
I've changed the genders in the second sentence and the adjectives (séparés/vu), but am not sure what the bolding of <i>dans Canada du nord</i> indicates. It's not that <i>Canada</i> requires an article in this phrase, is it? I've also deleted <i>ce</i> from the second-last sentence. Am I getting closer?<br />
<br />
<i>Si je pouvais recommander trois attractions aux visiteurs du Canada, je choisirais les Montagnes Rocheuses, les Chutes du Niagara, et l’aurore boréale. Les deux premières sont séparées par une grande distance; la dernière peut être vue de presque n'importe où dans Canada du nord, mais puisque c'est un phénomène naturel, le n'est pas toujours disponible. J'ai vu les deux premières attractions, et j’espère bientôt voir cette dernière.</i><br />
<br />
Thanks,<br />
Al Have another look at the bits…tag:www.forum.french-linguistics.co.uk,2010-01-25:3179028:Comment:118232010-01-25T04:51:57.370ZNeil Coffeyhttp://www.forum.french-linguistics.co.uk/profile/NeilCoffey
Have another look at the bits in bold (and if you change any genders-- hint hint-- remember that adjectives like <b>vu</b> will need to agree):<br />
<br />
<i>Si je pouvais recommander trois attractions aux visiteurs du Canada, je choisirais les Montagnes Rocheuses, les Chutes du Niagara, et l’aurore boréale. <b>Le premier deux</b> sont séparés par une grande distance; <b>le dernier</b> peut être vu de presque n'importe où <b>dans Canada du nord</b>, mais puisque c'est un phénomène naturel, <b>le ce…</b></i>
Have another look at the bits in bold (and if you change any genders-- hint hint-- remember that adjectives like <b>vu</b> will need to agree):<br />
<br />
<i>Si je pouvais recommander trois attractions aux visiteurs du Canada, je choisirais les Montagnes Rocheuses, les Chutes du Niagara, et l’aurore boréale. <b>Le premier deux</b> sont séparés par une grande distance; <b>le dernier</b> peut être vu de presque n'importe où <b>dans Canada du nord</b>, mais puisque c'est un phénomène naturel, <b>le ce</b> n'est pas toujours disponible. J'ai vu les deux premières, et j’espère bientôt voir cette dernière.</i><br />
<br />
Also, in the last sentence, because <b>les deux premières</b> is now a bit separated from the first sentence, and you have a masculine noun (<b>un phénomène</b>) immediately before, I'd recommend inserting an explicit noun: <b>J'ai vu les deux premières <u>attractions</u></b>. Thanks Neil. I've had another…tag:www.forum.french-linguistics.co.uk,2010-01-25:3179028:Comment:118222010-01-25T04:06:03.222ZAl Grahamhttp://www.forum.french-linguistics.co.uk/profile/AlGraham
Thanks Neil. I've had another try (below). I understood your comment re "think about the agreement-- les deux premiers/premières, ce dernier vs cette dernière" to mean that since these words refer to previous nouns which are plural feminine, they should match that form--is that correct?<br />
<br />
<br />
<i>Si je pouvais recommander trois attractions aux visiteurs du Canada, je choisirais les Montagnes Rocheuses, les Chutes du Niagara, et l’aurore boréale. Le premier deux sont séparés par une grande distance;…</i>
Thanks Neil. I've had another try (below). I understood your comment re "think about the agreement-- les deux premiers/premières, ce dernier vs cette dernière" to mean that since these words refer to previous nouns which are plural feminine, they should match that form--is that correct?<br />
<br />
<br />
<i>Si je pouvais recommander trois attractions aux visiteurs du Canada, je choisirais les Montagnes Rocheuses, les Chutes du Niagara, et l’aurore boréale. Le premier deux sont séparés par une grande distance; le dernier peut être vu de presque n'importe où dans Canada du nord, mais puisque c'est un phénomène naturel, le ce n'est pas toujours disponible. J'ai vu les deux premières, et j’espère bientôt voir cette dernière.</i><br />
<br />
Regards,<br />
Al P.S. If Google is anything to…tag:www.forum.french-linguistics.co.uk,2010-01-25:3179028:Comment:118192010-01-25T00:45:16.738ZNeil Coffeyhttp://www.forum.french-linguistics.co.uk/profile/NeilCoffey
P.S. If Google is anything to go by, <b>les Chutes <u>du</u> Niagara</b> appears more common than <b>les Chutes de Niagara</b>.
P.S. If Google is anything to go by, <b>les Chutes <u>du</u> Niagara</b> appears more common than <b>les Chutes de Niagara</b>. Some tips:
- French doesn't…tag:www.forum.french-linguistics.co.uk,2010-01-25:3179028:Comment:118182010-01-25T00:40:19.723ZNeil Coffeyhttp://www.forum.french-linguistics.co.uk/profile/NeilCoffey
Some tips:<br />
<br />
- French doesn't have the construction <b>for X to see</b>; you need to turn the sentence round a little bit (translate e.g. "recommend three attractions to visitors of Canada")<br />
- in careful writing, many speakers would avoid saying <b>si je pourrais...</b> and use <b>pouvais</b> instead (a bit like in careful writing in English, you'd probably avoid sayig <i>"if I would be able to..."</i>); in everyday, spontaneous speech, French people do sometimes say <b>si je pourrais...</b> (if…
Some tips:<br />
<br />
- French doesn't have the construction <b>for X to see</b>; you need to turn the sentence round a little bit (translate e.g. "recommend three attractions to visitors of Canada")<br />
- in careful writing, many speakers would avoid saying <b>si je pourrais...</b> and use <b>pouvais</b> instead (a bit like in careful writing in English, you'd probably avoid sayig <i>"if I would be able to..."</i>); in everyday, spontaneous speech, French people do sometimes say <b>si je pourrais...</b> (if you ask them, they think they don't, but they do...), however as I say, in careful writing, they would generally avoid it<br />
- the phrase <b>séparés par une grande distance</b> is not wrong as such, but there's a French phrase <b>éloigné de...</b> meaning "far away from..." which you could maybe work in here<br />
- French speakers don't generally say <b><strike>le(s) premiers deux</strike></b>, but rather <b>les deux premiers</b>; there's kind of no way of predicting this-- different languages put them in different orders<br />
- think about the agreement-- <b>les deux premiers/premières</b>, <b>ce dernier</b> vs <b>cette dernière</b><br />
- remember that names of countries generally need the article (<b>le</b> or <b>la</b>) in French, except when used with <b>en</b> ("in/to" used with generally feminine countries)<br />
- in your very last sentence, remember that when you have two verbs together in French, the second one is generally an infinitive; look up <b>attendre</b> in your dictionary and see if you can find the correct construction to use to mean <i>"to wait to do something"</i>; you might also consider other (possibly more common) expressions in French, such as <i>"I'm hoping to see ... very soon"</i>