Some money

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Frank on August 3, 2009 at 7:40pm

Hello Crack,

We don't say "quelques" for money. "quelques" usually applies to something you can count, ie "quelques" could be replaced by a number. "J'ai quelques chaises dans mon appartement" could be "J'ai 5 chaises dans mon appartement".

But with money, it wouldn't make any sense ("Je lui dois 5 argent"/"I owe him 5 money"?!).

When a number can't replace "some" we use "de l'" if the first letter of the following word is a voyel, "du" if
the first letter isn't a voyel _and_ the noun is masculine, and "de la" if it is feminine.

Je bois du Pepsi
Je mange de la soupe
Je lui dois de l'argent
Il est nécessaire de pratiquer du sport

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Permalink Reply by Crack1 on August 3, 2009 at 7:53pm

All right!
So French deviates from English when it comes to say 'some money'.

Je la dois de l'argent.
I owe her some money.

Je lui dois de l'argent.
I owe him some money.

Je la dois de l'argent.
I owe her some money.


What do you owe him?
I owe him money.
Je lui dois l'argent. [ Is this correct?]

Pour votre santé il est nécessaire de pratiquer du sport. [ Is this correct?]
In order to be healthy, you should do some sports.

I am bit surprised by the fact that the words 'C'est nécessaire' is not correct here.

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Permalink Reply by Frank on August 3, 2009 at 8:02pm

So French deviates from English when it comes to say 'some money'.

It's a bit similar to "a few" vs "some".
Some money = de l'argent
A few bucks = quelques euros


Je lui dois l'argent. [ Is this correct?]

Je lui dois de l'argent.


Pour votre santé il est nécessaire de pratiquer du sport. [ Is this correct?]

Yes, Sir. And you can replace "il est nécessaire" with "c'est nécessaire" or "il faut" if you want to, it'd be correct as well.

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Permalink Reply by Crack1 on August 3, 2009 at 9:19pm

I owe him money and I owe him some money have one singular sentence in French.

Je lui dois de l'argent.

Je la dois de l'argent. [ I owe her some moeny OR I owe her money.]

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Frank, I hope you don't find any errors in the following sentence.

Grace à sport je pèse 60 kilos de 62 et ma dernière de tension était 117/80.

What I want to say is thanks to my sports activities I weigh 60-62 kilos and the latest blood pressure value was 117/80. Some 2 weeks a GP checked the blood pressure.

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Permalink Reply by Crack1 on August 3, 2009 at 9:33pm

I made a blunder.

Some 2 weeks a GP checked the blood pressure.
Some 2 weeks ago a GP checked the blood pressure. [Correct]

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Permalink Reply by Pamela Kingfisher on August 3, 2009 at 11:29pm

Crack, since you are talking about your own BP, here in the states we say:


Two weeks ago my doctor checked my blood pressure.

My GP (general practitioner) insists I reduce my cholesterol count by avoiding eggs, fatty meats and saturated fatty foods.

As a former health care worker and daughter of a nurse, it sounds odd to me to hear blood pressure value. We don't use value when describing BP, or blood pressure. We use level.
Some examples:

My blood pressure level is low, so I have to take meds to control it.
Her BP level was so high she was in danger of having a stroke.
Or you can just say my blood pressure or BP.


Pamela

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Permalink Reply by Frank on August 3, 2009 at 11:05pm

Je lui dois de l'argent.
Je la dois de l'argent. [ I owe her some moeny OR I owe her money.]


You should say "lui" regardless of the gender.


Grace à sport je pèse 60 kilos de 62 et ma dernière de tension était 117/80.

ma dernière prise de tension était
or:
ma dernière tension était

Some 2 weeks ago a GP checked the blood pressure.
Il y a deux semaines, un (médecin) généraliste a vérifié ma tension.

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Permalink Reply by Crack1 on August 3, 2009 at 11:26pm

Thanks Frank

Some 72 hours ago you taught me the following:

Je viens de le voir (male)
Je viens de la voir. (female)

I've just seen him/her.
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When you want to say 'to him' or 'to her', one has to forget the gender!
Je lui dois de l'argent.
So the gender hinges on the context. This is a tall order for me.

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Permalink Reply by Neil Coffey on August 4, 2009 at 12:00am

Well, even in English, just because one part of the system makes a gender distinction doesn't mean that another part has to. In English, you would make a gender distinction between I saw him/her, but put things in the plural and the gender distinction disappears: I saw them.

Returning to French, yes, it's essentially as you say: the gender distinction disappears with lui, essentially meaning to him/her.

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Permalink Reply by Crack1 on August 4, 2009 at 7:22pm

Pamilla
So you are a health worker. I work with computers. Networking is my forte.

I wholeheartedly agree with you to say to write 'blood pressure value' is awkward.

I didn't know why I wrote this last night. It was too late. I wrote while flossing . Before going to bed it is a habit to do some flossing and it was late; it was a struggle against the clock..
I guess even a native speaker makes mistakes when you are under stress.

What is your blood pressure?
I have high blood pressure.
I have low blood pressure.
My blood pressure is normal.

It is generally accepted that the upper value is over 120 means high blood pressure.
It is generally accepted that the lower value is over 80 means high blood pressure.

I am not sure whether you have elevated cholesterol. The best thing is to do some physical activities to lower your cholesterol. I train 3 times a week at a gym. You don't have to go to a gym. There are so many other ways to get exercises.
You could go cycling, swimming, jogging, walking, etc.

You know gyms are expensive. I have to pay about 80 dollars a month.

I love to train at the gym because I keep my blood pressure like a man of 25 thanks to training. I weigh 60-62 kilos. I came home from the gym nearly 2 hours ago. Doctors have told me the training schedule keeps the blood pressure low.

Several of my friends have problems with blood pressure and cholesterol. They don't train.. They take pills instead of physical activities.
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Neil
You are clever. I didn't think about this difference in English.
I saw her.
I saw them. ( If there is more than one ...)

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Permalink Reply by Frank on August 4, 2009 at 7:36pm

I am not sure whether you have elevated cholesterol. The best thing is to do some physical activities to lower your cholesterol...
[snip snip]
Several of my friends have problems with blood pressure and cholesterol. They don't train.. They take pills instead of physical activities.


It's public knowledge that exercising is important in order to enhance and maintain overall health. However, I fail to see how it can help to learn a language, which is, if my memory serves me correctly, the topic of this discussion board.

Permalink Reply by Pamela Kingfisher on August 4, 2009 at 7:37pm

Crack, I am perplexed. My name is spelled Pamela. Please feel free to call me "Pam".You have spelled it in a way that suggests you are a native speaker of Italian.
Also, the sentences I wrote were merely examples of how to write blood pressure for those learning English and not personal references to my health. And I am a former healthcare worker not currently employed in that field. I am now more interested in education, as I have worked as a translator for English Language Learners from South America. I used to be quite a gym rat, as I used to be a pageant contestant and model.

I think it's great to be concerned with fitness and health. You will no doubt reap the rewards later in life. For my exercise routine I work with horses and ride almost daily. It's an exhilarating way to exercise the body and mind.
Pam

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