Questions tagged [grammaire]
La grammaire est l'étude systématique des éléments constitutifs d'une langue.
2,678 questions
1
vote
1
answer
324
views
Why is the masculine partitive du used instead of de le, while the feminine uses de la?
Why does French use du for the masculine partitive instead of something like de le, while the feminine partitive looks like de la?
Also, does de l’ apply to both masculine and feminine nouns that ...
- 561
3
votes
4
answers
342
views
Why does “on” take third-person singular verb forms even when it means “we”?
In French, the subject pronoun “nous” (“we”) takes first-person plural verb endings, such as “-ons”:
Nous parlons français.
However, in everyday spoken French, “on” is very commonly used with the ...
- 561
4
votes
1
answer
564
views
Why is there a dash before "tu" in "Quel quartier préfères‑tu ?"
I'm learning French, and I'm confused — in the question "Quel quartier préfères‑tu ?", why is there a dash between the verb and "tu" instead of a space?
- 561
2
votes
1
answer
55
views
« Ils ont mis la barre haut » - pas « haute » ?
La barre est haute, mais ils ont mis la barre haut ? J'ai entendu cette phrase à la télé et ça m'a interpellé. Tout simplement: pourquoi peut-on dire « haut » dans ce contexte ?
- 1,860
5
votes
1
answer
561
views
Can 'J'ai peur des chiens' mean fear of some specific dogs, or only dogs in general?
In French, the sentence "J'ai peur des chiens" is typically interpreted generically: the speaker is afraid of dogs as a species/class. However, I'm wondering about a possible indefinite ...
- 296
1
vote
0
answers
55
views
Why are existential and negative quantifications distinguished in French if they seem inseparable from sentence negation?
I'm trying to understand the syntactic/semantic difference between existential quantification (like des, du, de la) and negative quantification (like de in negative contexts) in French. I've read that ...
- 296
7
votes
1
answer
373
views
Why are articles used (or not used) in these contexts?
This is a follow-up of this question, which was also asked by me.
From the question above, I learned that an article is needed after "de" if it's specific (livre de la classe, where it's a ...
- 271
1
vote
1
answer
71
views
Est-ce que le verbe "être" peut être conjugué dans cette structure ?
Contenu de la documentation
Les emplois de causalité et de déduction des subordonnées en si
Les emplois causaux et déductifs illustrent directement la relation de conséquence entre la conditionnelle ...
- 854
1
vote
0
answers
13
views
Valeur restrictive ou explicative d’un participe passé détaché après virgule
Dans la définition « Fait de s’abstenir des plaisirs sexuels, jugés illicites », le groupe « jugés illicites » est-il une apposition explicative (valeur non restrictive) ou une expansion restrictive ...
- 11
2
votes
1
answer
135
views
Can a noun complement trigger retention of the indefinite article in negative sentences?
I understand the general rule that in French negative sentences, the indefinite articles (un, une, des) and partitive articles (du, de la, des) typically become "de" (or "d'" ...
- 296
4
votes
3
answers
172
views
“Je n’ai pas des amis d’enfance” vs. “Je n’ai pas d’amis d’enfance”: which is correct and what is the difference?
I am trying to understand the correct negative form of the sentence:
J’ai des amis d’enfance. (I have childhood friends.)
When negating it, I have seen two possible constructions:
Je n’ai pas des ...
- 296
1
vote
1
answer
68
views
In “Je bois des jus de fruits,” is “des” a partitive plural article or an indefinite plural article?
Consider the following sentence:
Je bois des jus de fruits tous les matins.
Grammarians and language enthusiasts often disagree on the nature of “des” in such a context. Two main analyses emerge, ...
- 296
1
vote
2
answers
109
views
Peut-on utiliser le participe présent ici ?
Pour le contenu souligné, mon manuel utilise le terme "participe", mais les exemples ne concernent que le participe passé. Je voudrais donc demander : est-ce que le "participe présent&...
- 854
-1
votes
1
answer
112
views
How do you turn a pronominal verb into the passive voice?
Can some directly transitive pronominal verbs that express absolute identity be turned into the passive voice? If turned into the passive, wouldn't that make them identical to the compound tenses?
...
- 854
0
votes
2
answers
60
views
Quelle est la structure de cette phrase ?
① La phrase "Quelqu’un est dans cette pièce" contient-elle une erreur grammaticale ?
② Si elle est correcte, quelle est sa structure grammaticale ? :
S’agit-il d’une structure « sujet-verbe-...
- 854