Chaque apres-midi OR L'apres-midi

by Crack1

Jul 17, 2009

L'apres-midi le grand-père dort.
I guess the meaning of the above is that 'the grand father sleeps in the afternoon'.

Does it mean a tradition or just a one-off?
I guess this is one-off.
You must write 'Chaque apres-midi le grand-père dort' to mention a tradition.
I am not sure. Please comment on this.
  • up

    Marc Vonhalmen

    It could mean a one-off, but it sounds more like a tradition. In French, when you're just using a noun to describe the time in which the action takes place, you don't necessarily need to put "chaque" before (you can, but it's not necessary). For instance:
    Le jeudi, je joue au tennis = Chaque jeudi, je joue au tennis = Tous les jeudis, je joue au tennis
    But if you want to say that THIS Thursday you're playing tennis, you would say:
    Jeudi, je joue au tennis (OR Ce jeudi, je joue au tennis)
    So, in your example:
    L'après-midi, le grand-père dort = Chaque après-midi, le grand-père dort.
    If it was a one-off, it would rather be:
    Cet après-midi, le grand-père dort.

    Ce/cet/cette/ces + noun ----> one-off (usually)

    Ce dimanche, ...
    Ce matin, ....
    Ce week-end, ...
    Cette semaine, ...
    1

    Jul 17, 2009