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Help needed with French preposition?

Why is this sentence "De la neige en avril, c'est exceptionnel, mais pas inedit?" not starting with "la neige..." Why is the "de" needed there? Also could you give me examples with explanation of sentences with rare preposition orders? Thank you :-)
I think that either could work, though 'de la neige' shows that they're talking about some snow, or snow in general, while 'la neige' means the snow.
Original post by Ilovelovelegends
Why is this sentence "De la neige en avril, c'est exceptionnel, mais pas inedit?" not starting with "la neige..." Why is the "de" needed there? Also could you give me examples with explanation of sentences with rare preposition orders? Thank you :-)

Because it's some snow in April, not all the snow. In English we'd just say "Snow in April" but in French you need the partitive (du/de la/de l') article. Note: you missed the accent on inédit.
That makes sense. Thank you.
Original post by beyknowles2
Because it's some snow in April, not all the snow. In English we'd just say "Snow in April" but in French you need the partitive (du/de la/de l':wink: article. Note: you missed the accent on inédit.


Yes...I get confused as I literally translate from word to word and forget that it's different in French than it is in English. Anyways, thank you.
Original post by Ilovelovelegends
Yes...I get confused as I literally translate from word to word and forget that it's different in French than it is in English. Anyways, thank you.

Don't worry we all do it when we're débutants :smile: As you progress you should gradually learn to appreciate the language and its individuality. I'm only in my second year of A levels but even now, sometimes I'll be thinking and I'll think of a word in French and I won't even know how to properly translate it into English, I just know that the French makes sense.
Original post by beyknowles2
Don't worry we all do it when we're débutants :smile: As you progress you should gradually learn to appreciate the language and its individuality. I'm only in my second year of A levels but even now, sometimes I'll be thinking and I'll think of a word in French and I won't even know how to properly translate it into English, I just know that the French makes sense.


It's easy to forget things I guess. XD I can't imagine doing it in A level. Good luck with your final year :biggrin:.
Original post by Ilovelovelegends
It's easy to forget things I guess. XD I can't imagine doing it in A level. Good luck with your final year :biggrin:.

So you're at GCSE actuellement? A level is fine, much better than GCSE. You will actually make improvements in your spoken French and improve your spontaneity, probably within the first month. You're always speaking in the language in lesson and the teacher speaks mainly in French so you're always exposed to it.

Tu penses à l'étudier au niveau de A level ou non ?
Original post by beyknowles2
So you're at GCSE actuellement? A level is fine, much better than GCSE. You will actually make improvements in your spoken French and improve your spontaneity, probably within the first month. You're always speaking in the language in lesson and the teacher speaks mainly in French so you're always exposed to it.

Tu penses à l'étudier au niveau de A level ou non ?


Non...je pense que mes compétences en Français est assez mal. Plus, je vais aller au lycee la biologie, les mathématiques, la physique et la chimie. :biggrin: That's how my French teacher used to do things in Year 10 but she got pregnant and left on a maternity leave and after that it's all been messed up. But I think I will pull through...
Original post by Ilovelovelegends
Non...je pense que mes compétences en Français est assez mal. Plus, je vais aller au lycee la biologie, les mathématiques, la physique et la chimie. :biggrin: That's how my French teacher used to do things in Year 10 but she got pregnant and left on a maternity leave and after that it's all been messed up. But I think I will pull through...

Bon courage avec tes études alors, espérons que tu obtiendras de bonnes notes pour que tu puisses progresser au lycée :smile:
Original post by beyknowles2
Bon courage avec tes études alors, espérons que tu obtiendras de bonnes notes pour que tu puisses progresser au lycée :smile:

Merci et merci pour ton aide.
Original post by Ilovelovelegends
Why is this sentence "De la neige en avril, c'est exceptionnel, mais pas inedit?" not starting with "la neige..." Why is the "de" needed there? Also could you give me examples with explanation of sentences with rare preposition orders? Thank you :-)


Just to clarify things: in your phrase "de la neige"; your "de" is not a preposition!

There are two different things you must not confuse:

a) the preposition "de", meaning "of" or "from" followed by the definite article "le, la, les", contracting to "du, de la, des" (and, of course, "de l' ") which generally translates as "of the" or "from the". Eg: Il est accusé du meurtre de son voisin - "he is accused of the murder of his neighbour".

b) the partitive article "du, de la, des" (and "de l' ") which translates as "some". Eg: Je voudrais du pain, du beurre et de la confiture - "I'd like some bread, some butter and some jam."
Original post by Anna Schoon
Just to clarify things: in your phrase "de la neige"; your "de" is not a preposition!

There are two different things you must not confuse:

a) the preposition "de", meaning "of" or "from" followed by the definite article "le, la, les", contracting to "du, de la, des" (and, of course, "de l' ":wink: which generally translates as "of the" or "from the". Eg: Il est accusé du meurtre de son voisin - "he is accused of the murder of his neighbour".

b) the partitive article "du, de la, des" (and "de l' ":wink: which translates as "some". Eg: Je voudrais du pain, du beurre et de la confiture - "I'd like some bread, some butter and some jam."


Thank you. I guess this means I need to revise more grammar for French. :biggrin:
Original post by beyknowles2
Bon courage avec tes études alors, espérons que tu obtiendras de bonnes notes pour que tu puisses progresser au lycée :smile:


Hey, are you a native speaker?
Original post by Quick-use
Hey, are you a native speaker?

Nope, studying at A level :smile:
Original post by beyknowles2
Nope, studying at A level :smile:


Ah I see!

In that case, if you don't mind me pointing out, don't use subjunctive if it's the same topic. For example: je ne pense pas que je puisse...

Instead, you'd say: je ne pense pas pouvoir...

And, if you want to use the subjunctive, you'd change the subject and say: je ne pense pas qu'il/elle puisse etc..

Sorry if this is out of the blue, but I just noticed a few mistakes in what you said and the subjunctive was the most pertinent one!
Original post by Quick-use
Ah I see!

In that case, if you don't mind me pointing out, don't use subjunctive if it's the same topic. For example: je ne pense pas que je puisse...

Instead, you'd say: je ne pense pas pouvoir...

And, if you want to use the subjunctive, you'd change the subject and say: je ne pense pas qu'il/elle puisse etc..

Sorry if this is out of the blue, but I just noticed a few mistakes in what you said and the subjunctive was the most pertinent one!


t français toi?
merci pour ça, ça marche 'je ne pense pas pouvoir' ? c bizarre quoi ive never seen it like that haha!
Original post by beyknowles2
t français toi?
merci pour ça, ça marche 'je ne pense pas pouvoir' ? c bizarre quoi ive never seen it like that haha!


I've studied French at university :smile:

Yeah, instead of saying je (ne) pense (pas) que je..., it's more natural to say: je (ne) pense (pas) + infinitive if it's the same subject (i.e. you).

Je pense pouvoir = I think I can. Je ne pense pas pouvoir = I don't think I can etc

When you use the subjunctive, you should always make sure that it's not the same subject; otherwise, the subjunctive is redundant.

Let's look at the subjunctive trigger of avant que as an example.

Why say: Je veux aller à Paris avant que j'aille à Madrid when you can say: Je veux aller à Paris avant d'aller à Madrid.

Both avant que and avant de = before. However, you use de without conjugating the verb and que when conjugating the verb.

We can translate the two sentences above:
Sentence 1: I want to go to Paris before I go to Madrid. = conjugated
Sentence 2: I want to go to Paris before going to Madrid. = infinitive

Therefore, without conjugating it, you know that the same person wants to go to Paris before going to Madrid in Sentence 2. In other words, you don't need to conjugate the verb after avant de as it's evident that it's the same subject doing the second action as well as the first one.

In the next sentence, I've used avant que and changed the subject in the second part of the sentence and have also conjugated it to the subjunctive as avant que is a subjunctive trigger.

Je veux aller à Paris avant que mon copain aillle à Madrid.
(edited 8 years ago)
Original post by Quick-use
I've studied French at university :smile:

Yeah, instead of saying je (ne) pense (pas) que je..., it's more natural to say: je (ne) pense (pas) + infinitive if it's the same subject (i.e. you).

Je pense pouvoir = I think I can. Je ne pense pas pouvoir = I don't think I can etc

When you use the subjunctive, you should always make sure that it's not the same subject; otherwise, the subjunctive is redundant.

Let's look at the subjunctive trigger of avant que as an example.

Why say: Je veux aller à Paris avant que j'aille à Madrid when you can say: Je veux aller à Paris avant d'aller à Madrid.

However, you can change the subject and say:

Je veux aller à Paris avant que mon copain aillle à Madrid.

Thank you ! How did you find French at university? I'm (hopefully) going to be studying Psychology at UoB next year, and I'll be picking French as "module outside of main discipline" because I love the French language and I don't want to forget it at university
Original post by beyknowles2
Thank you ! How did you find French at university? I'm (hopefully) going to be studying Psychology at UoB next year, and I'll be picking French as "module outside of main discipline" because I love the French language and I don't want to forget it at university


I edited my previous post with better explanations, so please have a look at it if you're interested.

French at university was really good and my fluency in it improved drastically. Of course, it depends on the university course and how good it is, so you can't take my word for it completely as I didn't do French at UoB.

All I can say is, before university, I didn't know actual French grammar or the reason why things are the way they are. I thought I did but, at university, I learned why French works the way in which it does. Even though at the moment I solely use Japanese, my knowledge of the French language is solid because I understand French grammar and how it works.

If you really want to improve your fluency, I would genuinely recommend investing in a seriously good grammar book or something and learning why things are the way they are. At high school, I honestly thought I knew French grammar; but, I honestly didn't. I knew when to use the subjunctive, but I didn't know why; I knew when to use avant de and not avant que, but I didn't know why; I knew when to use phrases like la raison pour laquelle, but I didn't know the purpose of using relative clauses, how they work or why it's laquelle and not que etc.

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