Sept. 5, 2022
Le chien
Il y a plusieurs après-midi's, je marchais dans la rue, pas loin chez moi. Il fait chaud. Je ne sais pas quand exactement, mais j'ai vu un chien. Il n'était pas grand, mais pas petit aussi. Je crois qu'il était berger australien. Bref, il traversait la rue, et il me dirait, «pardon, monsieur. J'ai trop faim. Est-ce que vous avez de la nourriture que vous pouvez me donner?»
«Non,» je dirais. «Je suis étudiant. Et pauvre»
«Mais vous n'êtes pas mince. Je suis sur qui vous avez quelque chose pour moi.»
Il était d'accord, mais impoli. Toutefois, et encore je ne sais pas pourquoi, je lui dirais, «Très bien. Tu me suis.»
On retournait chez moi. Quand on est entré, ma chat me demandait, «et ce qui?»
«Calme, c'est un ami. J'espère.» Elle à partait la pièce, ennuyée. Je dirais le chien s'asseoir à la table. Ensuite, j'allais à ma cuisinière, et je faisait un sandwich. Je retournais à la salle, et je donnais le chien son repas. Il mangerait rapidement sans dirait rien. Quand il finissait, il me dirait «merci beaucoup monsieur, mais j'ai trop faim encore. Je puis avoir quelque chose?»
»Non. Je dois manger ce soir.»
»Mais vous n'êtes pas mince et-»
«Partir,» je lui dirais. «Maintenant, s'il te plaît.»
Il quittait chez moi. Je restais à la table. Après quelque's moments, ma chat a entré, et elle me demandait, «est-ce que il dirait merci?»
Je regardait à la porte, et répondais, «non.»
Le chien
Il y a plusieurs après-midi's, je marchais dans la rue, pas loin chez moi.
"il y a plusieurs après-midis" sounds kinda strange, unless it was a stylistical effect you wanted to purposedly give the sentence
Il faisait chaud.
Past tense
Je ne sais pas quand exactement, mais j'ai vu un chien.
Il n'était pas grand, mais pas petit aussinon plus.
Neither ("too" in a negative sentence) => non plus
Je crois qu'ile c'était un était berger australien.
"il était berger australien" would sound like it was some kind of title or profession
Bref, il a traversaité la rue, et il me'a dirait,t « pardon, monsieur.
dirait = conditional, hypothesis
disait = imparfait, past tense
Here however, the passé composé would be used
J'ai trop faim.
Est-ce que vous avez de la nourriture que vous pouvez me donner?» ? »
You can use "auriez/pourriez" (conditional mood) to soften the demand
« Non,» je dirais'ai dit/répondu.
«Je suis étudiant.
With short sentences like "j'ai dit", it's not necessary to close brackets and open them again
Et pauvre. »
«— Mais vous n'êtes pas mincaigre.
Someone else talking => hyphen
If the dog wants to emphasize you're not suffering from hunger, he'd rather use "maigre"
Je suis suûr quie vous avez quelque chose pour moi. »
The subordinating conjunction is always "que"
sur = on ; sûr = safe, sure
[Il n'était d'accord, maispas si méchant que ça/il n'allait pas si mal], mais il était impoli.
"être d'accord" means you agree with someone's opinion or consent to something
"to be ok" has hundreds of meanings, so the translation depends on the context
if you mean "he wasn't so bad/naughty/mean, it would be the first option I wrote
If you mean "his health was ok" (despite his claims), it would be the second option after the slash
Toutefois, et encore je ne sais pas encore pourquoi, je lui dirais, «Tai répondu : « très bien.
Tu me suis. »
"tu me suis" sounds very direct (an order). I'd say "suis-moi" would perhaps be better in this situation
On retournaitest allés chez moi.
Since the dog never went to your place to begin with, "retourner/rentrer" with "on" as a subject sounds somehow a bit off.
Quand on est entrés, ma chat mete m'a demandait, «et ce qui?»é : « c'est qui, lui ?
"chatte" means a female cat but it's also mean a particular part of a lady's anatomy, so, be aware than the word "chat" is also widely used even to describe female cats
«C— Du calme, c'est un ami.
"calme !" would be far more direct, something you say to a wild beast that doesn't wanna calm down
"du calme" is more neutral
JEnfin, j'espère. » Elle àest partaitie de la pièce, ennuyée.
partir DE qq part
You may however use "quitter", which is directly transitive
Je dirais le'ai dit au chien de s'asseoir à la table.
dire À quelqu'un DE faire quelque chose
Ensuite, j'allaise suis allé à mla cuisinière, et je faise et j'ai fait un sandwich.
"une cuisinière" is "a cooker", "une cuisine" is "a kitchen"
Je retournais à lasuis revenu au salleon, et je'ai donnais le chiené son repas au chien.
If you meant "the living room", it would be "le salon"
donner quelque chose À quelqu'un
Generally speaking, the indirect object of an action (the action is directed towards him/her/it) is introduced by the preposition "à"
Il a mangeraité rapidement, sans dirait rienrien dire.
sans + infinitive
Quand il finissait, il me dirait «a (eu) fini, il m'a dit : « merci beaucoup monsieur, mais j'ai encore trop faim encore.
Je puiseux avoir quelque chose?» d'autre ?
"je puis" is a very literary and old-fashioned verbal form
»— Non.
Je dois manger ce soir.»
»— Mais vous n'êtes pas mince et-»...
An interrupted sentence is rather indicated using three dots
«— Partir,»s, je lui dirai faist.
I diversified the vocabulary a bit ("faire" means "dire" in this context)
«Maintenant, s'il te plaît. »
Il quittaitest parti de chez moi.
"chez moi" is a prepositional group which is rarely considered as a direct object, so with "chez + pronoun", it's much more usual to use "partir de"
Je suis restaisé à la table.
Après quelque'su bout d'un moments, ma chat ate est entrée, et elle me'a demandait,é : « est-ce que 'il diraa dit merci? »
"'s" doesn't exist in French
Je'ai regardait àé (en direction de) la porte, et j'ai répondais,u « non ».»
regarder qqch (transitive verb)
You may however say "j'ai regardé en direction de la porte" if you want to emphasize where your gaze was directed to
Feedback
Careful with tenses and moods. I know they're kinda tough in French, but you seem to use almost only the imparfait (perhaps because you don't know the passé composé well ?)
Overall, the imparfait is used for background actions, that are considered as actions in progress, something going on
The passé composé, on the other side, is used for foreground events which are important in the narrated sequence of events. The action is considered as something done and accomplished, and from this perspective, the "done" aspect or the results of the action matter more than its process or duration.
Using one instead of the other is sometimes a matter of choice (how the speaker wants to consider the action), but other times, it sounds plain wrong to use one instead of the other. I'm aware the above explanation seems really abstract, but the more French you'll be exposed to, the more natural it will seem!
As for the present conditional mood (ferais, dirais, verrais etc) it's only used for hypotheses (never to narrate past actions, as it can be the case of the English "would")
Sept. 5, 2022
Thank you for the feedback. I can conjugate just about any regular verb in the passé composé, but I'm still having a hard time to figure out when to use it. Ironically, I thought for some reason that since I was telling a story, it was best to use the imparfait, but I can see that's not the case. I believe I understand your explanation. I can see that I'll have to put more practice into this. I'll be reading «L'etranger» soon which, to my knowledge, is written mostly in passé composé and imparfait. Maybe that will help me out.
AgAIN, THANK YOU.
Sept. 5, 2022
Thank you for the feedback. I can conjugate just about any regular verb in the passé composé, but I'm still having a hard time to figure out when to use it. Ironically, I thought for some reason that since I was telling a story, it was best to use the imparfait, but I can see that's not the case. I believe I understand your explanation. I can see that I'll have to put more practice into this. I'll be reading «L'etranger» soon which, to my knowledge, is written mostly in passé composé and imparfait. Maybe that will help me out. AgAIN, THANK YOU.
Sorry, I meant to say "Again, thank you." Didn't mean to yell lol.
Sept. 5, 2022
Lol, no problem, I had understood! And you're very welcome.
Well, there's no particular tense for writing a story, except for the passé simple, which is really literary and old-fashioned (even modern writers don't really use it anymore), but its usage matches the passé composé's. If you're interested in French literature, I should perhaps mention A LOT of books are written using the passé simple, so it's nice to know it, to be at least able to recognize it (writing a text with it is a different ball game)
Sept. 5, 2022
Lol, no problem, I had understood! And you're very welcome. Well, there's no particular tense for writing a story, except for the passé simple, which is really literary and old-fashioned (even modern writers don't really use it anymore), but its usage matches the passé composé's. If you're interested in French literature, I should perhaps mention A LOT of books are written using the passé simple, so it's nice to know it, to be at least able to recognize it (writing a text with it is a different ball game)
Yeah, I'm not quite sure why I thought it was the case. I want to read a lot of classic French literature, so I'll have to get around to learning the passé simple at some point. It looks complicated, but at least it seems as though I don't have to know how to use it.
Sept. 5, 2022
Yes the passé simple is tough, the imparfait du subjonctif even tougher^^ this one is totally obsolete though, but a lot of classic authors used it as well, although it's less common than the passé simple.
Sept. 5, 2022
Yes the passé simple is tough, the imparfait du subjonctif even tougher^^ this one is totally obsolete though, but a lot of classic authors used it as well, although it's less common than the passé simple.
Thanks for the heads up. I just looked up some conjugations, and I'm glad that I won't have to actively use it lol.
Sept. 5, 2022
Especially don't use in conversations. Saying someting like "je fus triste vous ne vinssiez point" would attract you dumbfounded, somewhat worried gazes, in a "dafuq-u-sayin-dawg" kind of way
It's definitely chic and stylish, however, if you favor a very classic and literary style. I'm always impressed when foreigners can conjugate in the passé simple, and frankly admirative when they know about the imparfait du subjonctif.
Sept. 5, 2022
I was thinking earlier that for fun, I'd like to write a story in the passé simple. Maybe one day.
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Tu me suis.» Tu me suis. » "tu me suis" sounds very direct (an order). I'd say "suis-moi" would perhaps be better in this situation |
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On retournait chez moi. On Since the dog never went to your place to begin with, "retourner/rentrer" with "on" as a subject sounds somehow a bit off. |
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Le chien This sentence has been marked as perfect! |
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Il y a plusieurs après-midi's, je marchais dans la rue, pas loin chez moi. Il y a plusieurs après-midi "il y a plusieurs après-midis" sounds kinda strange, unless it was a stylistical effect you wanted to purposedly give the sentence |
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Il fait chaud. Il faisait chaud. Past tense |
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Je ne sais pas quand exactement, mais j'ai vu un chien. This sentence has been marked as perfect! |
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Il n'était pas grand, mais pas petit aussi. Il n'était pas grand, mais pas petit Neither ("too" in a negative sentence) => non plus |
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Je crois qu'il était berger australien. Je crois qu "il était berger australien" would sound like it was some kind of title or profession |
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Bref, il traversait la rue, et il me dirait, «pardon, monsieur. Bref, il a travers dirait = conditional, hypothesis disait = imparfait, past tense Here however, the passé composé would be used |
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J'ai trop faim. This sentence has been marked as perfect! |
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Est-ce que vous avez de la nourriture que vous pouvez me donner?» Est-ce que vous avez de la nourriture que vous pouvez me donner You can use "auriez/pourriez" (conditional mood) to soften the demand |
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«Non,» je dirais. « Non, |
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«Je suis étudiant.
With short sentences like "j'ai dit", it's not necessary to close brackets and open them again |
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Et pauvre» Et pauvre. » |
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«Mais vous n'êtes pas mince.
Someone else talking => hyphen If the dog wants to emphasize you're not suffering from hunger, he'd rather use "maigre" |
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Je suis sur qui vous avez quelque chose pour moi.» Je suis s The subordinating conjunction is always "que" sur = on ; sûr = safe, sure |
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Il était d'accord, mais impoli. [Il n'était "être d'accord" means you agree with someone's opinion or consent to something "to be ok" has hundreds of meanings, so the translation depends on the context if you mean "he wasn't so bad/naughty/mean, it would be the first option I wrote If you mean "his health was ok" (despite his claims), it would be the second option after the slash |
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Toutefois, et encore je ne sais pas pourquoi, je lui dirais, «Très bien. Toutefois, et |
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Quand on est entré, ma chat me demandait, «et ce qui?» Quand on est entrés, ma chat "chatte" means a female cat but it's also mean a particular part of a lady's anatomy, so, be aware than the word "chat" is also widely used even to describe female cats |
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«Calme, c'est un ami.
"calme !" would be far more direct, something you say to a wild beast that doesn't wanna calm down "du calme" is more neutral |
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J'espère.» Elle à partait la pièce, ennuyée.
partir DE qq part You may however use "quitter", which is directly transitive |
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Je dirais le chien s'asseoir à la table. J dire À quelqu'un DE faire quelque chose |
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Ensuite, j'allais à ma cuisinière, et je faisait un sandwich. Ensuite, j "une cuisinière" is "a cooker", "une cuisine" is "a kitchen" |
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Je retournais à la salle, et je donnais le chien son repas. Je If you meant "the living room", it would be "le salon" donner quelque chose À quelqu'un Generally speaking, the indirect object of an action (the action is directed towards him/her/it) is introduced by the preposition "à" |
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Il mangerait rapidement sans dirait rien. Il a mang sans + infinitive |
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Quand il finissait, il me dirait «merci beaucoup monsieur, mais j'ai trop faim encore. Quand il |
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Je puis quelque chose?» |
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»Non.
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Je dois manger ce soir.» Je dois manger ce soir. |
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»Mais vous n'êtes pas mince et-»
An interrupted sentence is rather indicated using three dots |
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«Partir,» je lui dirais.
I diversified the vocabulary a bit ("faire" means "dire" in this context) |
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«Maintenant, s'il te plaît.»
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Il quittait chez moi. Il "chez moi" is a prepositional group which is rarely considered as a direct object, so with "chez + pronoun", it's much more usual to use "partir de" |
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Je restais à la table. Je suis rest |
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Après quelque's moments, ma chat a entré, et elle me demandait, «est-ce que il dirait merci?» A "'s" doesn't exist in French |
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Je regardait à la porte, et répondais, «non.» J regarder qqch (transitive verb) You may however say "j'ai regardé en direction de la porte" if you want to emphasize where your gaze was directed to |
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Je puis avoir quelque chose?» Je p "je puis" is a very literary and old-fashioned verbal form |
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