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RE
Lv 5
RE asked in Society & CultureLanguages · 3 years ago

How do I say these things (more info below) in French?

Hi guys, I'm currently learning French, and there are a few little grammar points that I always forget, and are really annoying in life in general. Usually, I'm quite good at picking up and remembering grammar, but with these I just can't seem to get it!

I am going TO... (Dans? À?)

IN ORDER TO/ SO

and finally

I want to give MY FRIEND/BROTHER... ETC a new xyz (Je voudrais se donner?)

I had a longer list but I have forgotten them for now, but it would really help me if someone fluent could tell me how we generally do this. Please dont be afraid of over simplifying... I dont know what level people would say I am at, in terms of beginner, intermediate etc, so yeah, I'm kinda just typing now trying to work out what I'm meaning to say, so I should probably stop... Thankyou!!!

2 Answers

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  • Tangi
    Lv 7
    3 years ago
    Favorite Answer

    I am going to + place = je vais à + place (remember that "à+le" is "au", that "à+les" is "aux" and for most feminine country and region names, "à" is replaced by "en")

    Examples :

    - I'm going to Rome = je vais à Rome

    - I'm going to Italy = je vais en Italie

    - I'm going to the museum = je vais au musée

    - I'm going to the toilets = je vais aux toilettes

    etc

    I am going to + verb = je vais + verb in the infinitive

    That's called the near future (futur proche). It's a grammatical construction that can be compared to a tense.

    Examples :

    - I'm going to fall = je vais tomber

    - I'm going to need help = Je vais avoir besoin d'aide

    etc

    In order to + verb = afin de+verb in the infinitive/pour+verb in the infinitive

    Examples :

    - I'm sitting in order to relax = je m'assois pour me détendre

    - I'm sitting in order to relax = je m'assois afin de me détendre

    so + phrase = afin que+phrase in the subjuncitve/pour que+phrase in the subjunctive.

    Examples :

    - You're cheating so I can't win = Tu triches pour que je ne puisse pas gagner

    - You're cheating so I can't win = Tu triches afin que je ne puisse pas gagner

    Be careful, if the subject of the main and dependent clause are the same, using this formulation sounds bad, it's better to use the first two formulations (without "que") so the dependent clause doesn't have a new explicited subject.

    Example :

    - Je cours pour que je sois à l'heure (correct but sounds bad because the verbs "courir" and "être" both have a different "je" as a subejct)

    - Je cours pour être à l'heure (correct and sounds way better because the verbs "courir" and "être" have the same "je" as a subject)

    I want to give X a Y = I want to give a Y to X

    So in French, that's "je veux donner un Y à X"

    Therefore, "I want to give my brother a slap in the face" is "Je veux donner une gifle à mon frère" (I want to give a slap in the face to my brother).

    Source(s): I'm French
  • 3 years ago

    (Disclaimer: Not a fluent speaker)

    "I am going TO... (Dans? À?) ". Neither. This is called "futur proche" and it's formed with conjugating ALLER plus the infinitive. No additional preposition.

    Example: Nager = to swim

    Je vais nager = I am going to swim.

    (Edit: I interpreted your question as "I am going to [verb]" but I see you might have meant "I am going to [location]".

    "in order to / so"

    I think in most cases you'd use a construction with "pour".

    "I need glasses in order to read" = J'ai besoin des lunettes pour lire.

    Your third question seems to be about the indirect object pronoun for "him". That would be "lui", and your word order was correct. So "Je voudrais lui donner" (which is more "I would like" than "I want" = Je veux)

    Edit: I see while I was writing that, Tangi gave a more in depth answer. Tangi is a native French speaker.

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