some French language questions?

Question

hi all, i am trying to learn French for an upcoming move and am trying to be self-taught as much as possible before doing lessons (not least because budget is an issue)

I have a couple of questions about French particularities of language, I have a feeling thse may be the first in a long line lol, here we go....

1. Is it true that 'nous' in French can mean 'you' (more than one person) as well as 'we'...(me and these people), that could be mighty confusing if true.

2. In French lessons at school I was taught to say just 'ou est' and 'ou sont' , in questions about where things are...online transltors tell me to put 'la' in front, for example ''la ou sont les magasins'', ''la ou est le commissiariat de police' etc , WHICH IS CORRECT??!

3. is there some kind of rule for which type of things have which gender in French (for example le maison or la maison) or is it just random, and you have to learn pretty much by heart which gender every noun is?

I hope people can help?

Answer 1

1. Nous correponds to people AND you. ex : Allons-nous au cinéma ? Do we go to movies ?
Vous correponds to people without you. Allez vous au cinéma ? Do you go to movies ?
2. The correct sentences are Où sont...
3. you have to learn on your own !!! Unfortunalety

Answer 2

1. Is it true that 'nous' in French can mean 'you' (more than one person) as well as 'we'...(me and these people), that could be mighty confusing if true.

No, it can mean "you and I" "other people and I" or "you, other people, and I", same as "we" in English. "On" can mean "you" in the general sense (you have to buy a ticket before you get on the bus) or "we", could that be what you mean? It conjugates the same as il and elle.

2. In French lessons at school I was taught to say just 'ou est' and 'ou sont' , in questions about where things are...online transltors tell me to put 'la' in front, for example ''la ou sont les magasins'', ''la ou est le commissiariat de police' etc , WHICH IS CORRECT??!

Your teachers spoke French. Online translators don't.
"Là" (with an accent) means "there"--it can be used as "where" when "where" is a relative pronoun, (The parking lot where Jimmy Hoffa is buried) but not to start a question.

3. is there some kind of rule for which type of things have which gender in French (for example le maison or la maison) or is it just random, and you have to learn pretty much by heart which gender every noun is?

no rule. But it's la maison.
There are a couple patterns, I've been told that words ending in "tion" are normally feminine and words ending in "age" are normally masculine. At least actual girls are feminine, they aren't in German!

Answer 3

1. Nous means only we. Vous means you (more than one person).
2. The question Where are the magasins, is Ou sont les magasins. The question Where is the magasin is Ou est le magasin. The question Where are you is, Ou es tu. Where are we, Ou sommes nous. etc.
3. Usually, at the end of feminine nouns, there's a "e", but not always. For example, maison is feminine although there's not e at the end. Also, even though there might be an e, the noun might be still masculine. For example. "fromage" is masculine, although there's an "e".

Answer 4

1. No, it's not true.

2. Both are correct but have a different meaning.

In a question :
"Where is the station ?" = "Où est la gare?"
"Where are you going ?" = "Où vas-tu ?" etc...

But if you use "où" as a conjunction or, to put it more simply, in a sentence that's not a question, you need to add "là" before "où". It'll be clearer with a few examples :

"This is where I'm going to" = "C'est là où je vais"
"Your bag is where I told you" = "Ton sac est là où je t'ai dit"

So, if you use "où" in a question, you mustn't add "là". If you use "où" in a sentence that's not a question, you must add "là".

"Où sont les magasins?" = Where are the shops ?
"Là où sont les magasins" = Where the shops are


3.
Words ending with "-tion" (correction), with "-tude" (habitude), are always feminine. Words ending with -isme (communisme) are always masculine. Except for these rules, you'll have to learn the gender of nouns. Sorry.
But don't worry : most foreigners make mistakes about the genders of nouns : people will understand you anyway and step by step you'll make less and less mistakes.

If you know another romance language it'll help you because the gender of nouns are usually the same inn French, Italian and Spanish.

Hope this will help and good luck

Answer 5

1. No, "nous" never means you. Vous/tu are you.
2. No, forget the la or le. "Où sont les magasins" or "Les magasins où sont-ils?". Online translators seldom get it right. Avoid them like the plague.
3. There's no rule; you have to learn every word individually. You will however eventually get a feel for which words are likely to be which gender. In GENERAL, however, a word ending in a consonant followed by an e is LIKELY to be feminine.

Answer 6

1) "Nous" means "we" usually but you can find in very old texts "nous" used for "I": For example when a king is speaking "Nous Louis le quatorzième, vous faisons chevalier"

OR "nous" can be used sometimes for "you" when it is used in a familiar (and snobbish ridiculous) affective way: for example you see your son loosing his breath, laughing: you'll say: "nous rions beaucoup n'est ce pas?"You are laughing a lot aren't you? But you must keep that for your family area, never use it for anybody else it's impolite!

2) It is not the same use! "où sont les clefs" is a question "where are the keys?"
"Là où sont les clefs" can be translated in "where the keys are" the "a" of "là" is wearing an accent to make the reader knows that it is a place that we are talking about
example: You'll find your cell phone where the keys are: "tu trouveras ton téléphone là où sont les clefs" it's not a question anymore, it's a way of making people remember where is something.

3) Yes, you'll have to learn by heart but usually every word ending by "ille", "ine", "ie", "e" is feminine
I don't know if I'm quite clear but do not hesitate to ask anything about French! (I can be reached by mail)

Answer 7

1. "Nous" is a pronoun that always means "We". "You" (Meaning more than one person) is "Vous".

You may be confused by "Tu" and "Vous", both meaning "you", and both could be used for a single individual. It helps using the old English to explain:
Tu = Thou (Single person, used in casual talk with a friend or family member)
Vous = You (Single person, used in formal talk with strangers, OR multiple persons, regardless of familiarity)

2. Online translators are rubbish. Your French class is correct. Là (Be careful with the accent!) means "There" (Here is "ici")
Où means "Where". So your example translated back into English is just as nonsensical as in French:
There where is the police station, there where are the shops.

Now if you wanted to say: C'est la qu'est le commissariat de police (which is grammatically correct but very awkward), you would have to note the use of the subjunctive clause. In English, you would translate that into:
It is there that the police station is

3. No rules. You have to learn by the gender with the noun I'm afraid!

Answer 8

I'm french-Canadien and I'll be happy to help!

1.nous means us , ans we means the same thing

2.the transelators are rong, its ou sont les magazins

3.Its la maison. maison is an exeption, because usually when its feminin there is an e at the end.

Answer 9

1. Nous means "us" or "we". You (plural) is vous.
2. Où est le/la... and où sont les... are correct
3. It depends which books you look at. Some include a guideline which is femine and which is masculine. As a general rule (not always), femine ends in "e" (I just memorize which is what because it is eaiser for me. I do not know what is eaiser for you)

Answer 10

a million. J'ai argent is superb. J'ai l'argent (for this reason the le is a piece of writing, that would the two be a or the) ought to represent I even have the money. 2. this is Il y a toilette, meaning is there a rest room. you are able to upload pres (close to) to ask if there's a rest room interior of sight. 3. Je peux ability i'm waiting to, peux from the verb pouvoir. Puis is a be conscious for after or next, so je puis is I then.