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Billy Bosworth
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Billy Bosworth's Discussions

s'en penser ?

Started this discussion. Last reply by Chantal Savignat Mar 22, 2021. 4 Replies

I am trying to translate the following into French: They were part of high society, or rather they thought so.It's the bit at the end I'm really hung up on - the "penser" bit. Ils faisaient partie de…Continue

"avec" to end a sentence

Started this discussion. Last reply by Chantal Savignat Jan 22, 2021. 3 Replies

In discussions on France Culture I have recently heard "avec" as the last word in a sentence. It sounded rather strange, and I think it was spoken by a French native. Unfortunately, I can't remember…Continue

s'attaquer vs attaquer

Started this discussion. Last reply by George Hunt Jul 4, 2020. 1 Reply

I am trying to come up with a general rule of thumb regarding the usage of these 2 verbs. For a start I have difficulty reconciling "se <infinitive>" where there is a clear direct object, but I…Continue

Using the future tense

Started this discussion. Last reply by Chantal Savignat Jan 6, 2020. 2 Replies

This is the sentence to be translated: They will ring when they get there. I am aware of a "rule" (?) which states that in the case of 2 future tenses/actions, the French has to make a distinction…Continue

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Chantal Savignat replied to Billy Bosworth's discussion s'en penser ?
"hello. As George said : The first sentence  is perfect. Ils le pensaient : "le" represents the first part of the sentence "Ils faisaient partie de la haute société" to avoid the repetition. I think in…"
Mar 22, 2021

Educator
George Hunt replied to Billy Bosworth's discussion s'en penser ?
"Actually no,I feel it is OK to use se penser for "to think of themselves" ( like "se  croire") It is the "en" which  seems meaningless ,unless there was some contrived context it would work in. As a set…"
Mar 20, 2021
Billy Bosworth replied to Billy Bosworth's discussion s'en penser ?
"Thanks George.  I have since checked with un Français, and ils le pensaient is the correct version, although he wasn't able to elaborate on why exactly.  It raised for me the question of reciprocal and reflexive verbs…"
Mar 20, 2021

Educator
George Hunt replied to Billy Bosworth's discussion s'en penser ?
"I don't think your construction is correct. S'en penser is not an expression  I have come across to mean that. You can have "se penser"  to mean "to consider oneself something" (e.g. "se penser…"
Mar 20, 2021
Billy Bosworth posted a discussion

s'en penser ?

I am trying to translate the following into French: They were part of high society, or rather they thought so.It's the bit at the end I'm really hung up on - the "penser" bit. Ils faisaient partie de la haute société, ou plutôt ils le pensaient or ... ils s'en pensaient?I would like to think that the second option (using "en") is correct, but it is correct to use "se penser"?Also can there be situations where "penser" takes a direct object. ie. je le pense...?It may be that I am trying to…See More
Mar 18, 2021
Chantal Savignat replied to Billy Bosworth's discussion "avec" to end a sentence
"Hello, Yes, it's used. We are speaking about something, a new car, a new suit, .... as we are speaking about this thing, adding this thing after "avec" is understood. Man 1 : tu viens avec nous ce week end ? Man 2 : "Oui,…"
Jan 22, 2021

Educator
George Hunt replied to Billy Bosworth's discussion "avec" to end a sentence
"There is also this example I  found . Not with "avec" at the end of the sentence but "hanging" ,as it were https://communaute.mariages.net/forum/nom-du-conjoint-et-pas-les-enfants--t542091"
Jan 17, 2021

Educator
George Hunt replied to Billy Bosworth's discussion "avec" to end a sentence
"Fairly sure I have heard  "Voulez-vous venir avec?" ie Do you want to come along? I suppose "avec nous" is understood and not explicitly stated. Are you sure that recommendation you have heard applies to the English…"
Jan 17, 2021
Billy Bosworth replied to alan gould's discussion a priori
"I don't think the absolute meaning of either term is significant, as they both hint at doubt and uncertainty.  It is more the context that distinguishes them, in that a scientist/intellectual may choose "a priori" whereas a…"
Jan 16, 2021
Billy Bosworth posted a discussion

"avec" to end a sentence

In discussions on France Culture I have recently heard "avec" as the last word in a sentence. It sounded rather strange, and I think it was spoken by a French native. Unfortunately, I can't remember the whole sentence, but is this good French grammar? I have always thought that in French it's not acceptable to use a preposition to end a sentence with. :-)See More
Jan 16, 2021

Educator
George Hunt replied to Billy Bosworth's discussion s'attaquer vs attaquer
"Seems to be a fine distinction. Have a look at this old thread (between French speakers) https://forum.wordreference.com/threads/attaquer-sattaquer.261220/"
Jul 4, 2020
Billy Bosworth posted a discussion

s'attaquer vs attaquer

I am trying to come up with a general rule of thumb regarding the usage of these 2 verbs. For a start I have difficulty reconciling "se <infinitive>" where there is a clear direct object, but I have seen numerous instances where this has been used. "Trump s'attaque à John McCain...". Very often "s'attaquer" is used to convey the thought of "tackling" something. But I finish up with wondering why we need "attaquer", as the "reflexive" version seems to fit all/most cases. Here are a couple…See More
Jul 3, 2020
Chantal Savignat replied to Billy Bosworth's discussion Using the future tense
"Hi and first Je souhaite une bonne année  à tous ceux qui liront ce message. Meilleurs voeux de bonheur pour 2020. These "rules" are called "concordance des temps". We have 2 tenses : futur simple and futur…"
Jan 6, 2020

Educator
George Hunt replied to Billy Bosworth's discussion Using the future tense
"Am vaguely aware of this use of the future tense,but not well enough to know the  "rules" I would agree that your second translation is better. I also thing that you could just use the present tense for "arriver". No…"
Dec 1, 2019
Billy Bosworth posted a discussion

Using the future tense

This is the sentence to be translated: They will ring when they get there. I am aware of a "rule" (?) which states that in the case of 2 future tenses/actions, the French has to make a distinction between them and show that one action has to be completed before the other. In this case, they have to perform the action of "getting there" before they can perform the action of "ringing".  This means that you can't simply put them both in the future, as there would be no distinction.So the following…See More
Dec 1, 2019
Chantal Savignat replied to Billy Bosworth's discussion chapelle ancienne?
"Hello, It's not usual to say "l'ancienne chapelle" with "ancienne" = old. When I hear "l'ancienne chapelle" i understand "ancienne" as "former" = this chapel was a chapel some years or…"
Oct 7, 2019

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How would you rate your level of French?
Intermediate
Do you use French as part of your job?
No
How many other languages do you speak or are you learning?
5+

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